Summering in tony Palm Desert, Calif., would agree with most people, but for skateboarder chick Katriona Shaw, who’s stuck in paradise with her glamorous film-star grandmother, Noni, it couldn’t be worse and her running acerbic commentary, which borders on whining, never lets readers forget it. However, things get more complicated when the 62-year-old Noni begs Katriona to double for her, because she’s out of commission with a sprained ankle and has a pivotal meeting with a movie producer. With a stretch of the imagination and serious help from Noni’s assistants, 15-year-old Katriona dons her grandmother’s heels, makeup and pout to successfully become Noni. Predictably, this causes Katriona to soften towards her grandmother, refine her acting skills and gain self-confidence. Although Katriona’s physical transformation is far-fetched, Katriona’s development into a likable character, a character with which teen readers can relate, is natural and believable. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-525-47634-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
Necessary, important, honest, loving, and true.
A gut-wrenching look at how addiction affects a family and a town.
Emory Ward, 16, has long been invisible. Everyone in the town of Mill Haven knows her as the rich girl; her workaholic parents see her as their good child. Then Emory and her 17-year-old brother, Joey, are in a car accident in which a girl dies. Joey wasn’t driving, but he had nearly overdosed on heroin. When Joey returns from rehab, his parents make Emory his keeper and try to corral his addictions with a punitive list of rules. Emory rebels in secret, stealing small items and hooking up with hot neighbor Gage, but her drama class and the friends she gradually begins to be honest with help her reach her own truth. Glasgow, who has personal experience with substance abuse, bases this story on the classic play Our Town but with a twist: The characters learn to see and reach out to each other. The cast members, especially Emory and Joey, are exceptionally well drawn in both their struggles and their joys. Joey’s addiction is horrifying and dark, but it doesn’t define who he is. The portrayal of small-town life and its interconnectedness also rings true. Emory’s family is White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast, and an important adult mentor is gay. Glasgow mentions in her author’s note that over 20 million Americans struggle with substance abuse; she includes resources for teens seeking help.
Necessary, important, honest, loving, and true. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-70804-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
A stunning debut from a powerful new voice.
When everyone tells you who you are, how can you figure out who you want to be?
Ever since Belén’s pa left, nothing’s been the same. Her depressed ma is hardly home, and all older sister Ava does is berate Belén and accuse her of being just like their father. In danger of flunking out of high school, Belén fears Ava is right about her. With her best friend, Leti, pregnant and going through serious family problems of her own, Belén seeks solace in a questionable relationship with a college student. And when she sees her father at a restaurant with a much younger woman, but he doesn’t acknowledge her (“his eyes remain flat. Lifeless. Like he is looking at a stranger”), the tenuous hold she had on herself slips. Everyone, it seems, abandons her; will Belén also give up on herself? Despite the book’s exploration of painful subjects, Belén’s strong, tell-it-like-it-is voice and wry humor don’t court readers’ pity. The novel treats issues of misogyny, domestic violence, and racism as realities to be dealt with, not character-defining moments of transformation, and the story’s tension is rooted in the question of whether Belén and Leti will break free from cycles of generational trauma and forge their own futures. This addictively readable novel is a loving portrait of growing up Mexican American and female in Oakland.
A stunning debut from a powerful new voice. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780063287860
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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