by A.M. Rogers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2022
Emotional turmoil and environmental threats are skillfully handled in this accessible novel in verse.
High school student Harper wishes that she still lived in Los Angeles where there are more opportunities for acting, which is her passion.
She is inspired by actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn and has just made a new friend, Dakota, who is nonbinary and cued as Black and who speaks out about climate change. Harper is trying to get used to the California town that she and her father have moved to with Ara, Harper’s new stepmother; Harper’s mom has moved to Atlanta. Harper and her dad are White, while Ara is from Morocco—and very pregnant. Harper has always been close with her dad, but she misses her mom and is ambivalent about becoming an older sister. When wildfires blaze, her firefighter dad must leave them to go do his job. Harper and Ara are thrown together uncomfortably as they wait to find out whether and where the fire will spread; fortunately, they escape when it threatens to engulf their home. The situation stresses everyone out, but luckily, Dakota and their capable mom are at the emergency shelter and step in to assist Harper and Ara at a critical time. This novel for reluctant readers in first-person free verse strongly and realistically portrays a young woman who experiences family problems and larger dangers.
Emotional turmoil and environmental threats are skillfully handled in this accessible novel in verse. (Verse novel. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-978596-09-2
Page Count: 200
Publisher: West 44 Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
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by Daniel Aleman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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New York Times Bestseller
by Rebecca Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2023
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
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New York Times Bestseller
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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