Another splendid, complex tour de force from the Carnegie-winning author of The Haunting and The Tricksters. Jonny Dart, 19, questing for the elusive memory of the details of his sister Janine's fatal fall five years ago, is in the habit of succumbing to rage and "looks like trouble"—but is "more trouble to [himself] than to anyone else." Recovering from a binge, he falls in with old Sophie, who has Alzheimer's disease. Mistaking him for someone from her past, she takes him to her chaotic house, where he finds himself drawn into a new role: creating order, caring for Sophie, and ultimately making longer-term arrangements for her care. Meanwhile, he has located Bonny, Janine's close friend and the other witness to her death. Though their reacquaintance begins tentatively and is interrupted by Jonny's overviolent attempt to embrace her—and the power she symbolizes for him—her alternate memories help him to relinquish his unearned guilt for his part in Janine's death. Mahy's narrative is rich in images, analogies, parallels, and allusions, a poetic feast for the mind and heart. Jenny finds that memories—like Sophie's marvelous tragic-comic lapses with their cozy, inappropriate conventions and endless repetitions—can be "wild stories, always in the process of being revised, updated, or having different endings written onto them." Thus he can evolve a new version of his relationship with his family (perhaps Janine was neither the favorite nor the most talented), with Bonny (who reveres Jonny's power as much as he reveres hers), even with the evil bully Nev—and give up the ghosts of memory, give up dancing under the danger sign at the cliff's top, and be reborn: ordinary, under control, even lucky.
Pub Date: April 1, 1988
ISBN: 000712337X
Page Count: 292
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1988
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
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