A profound reminder that social revolutions are never bloodless or linear victories.
After foreseeing a boy’s death, a 15-year-old cellist tries to alter destiny.
Laveau “Lala” Russell is tired of racism. She lives in Davey, Texas, a sundown town with a hard line separating the Black south side residents from the white people on the north side. The two groups have maintained a veneer of tolerance—until plans for an affordable housing development heighten long-simmering racial tensions. Lala is also reminded of Davey’s bigotry at her prestigious music school, where Confederate flags line the display cases, and she’s one of just six Black students in her program. Rather than protest or join the school’s Black Alliance, Lala focuses on getting into Juilliard. But her detachment is rattled when she has a Flash, a vision of the future—an ability that runs in her family. She sees an unarmed Black boy fatally shot by a white man. Before Lala can warn the victim, her grandma has a Flash in which she sees the teenager’s murder sparking nationwide change. Suddenly facing a moral dilemma, Lala must reckon with the personal sacrifices that pave the road to collective justice. Anchored by a compelling lead, Arnold’s novel captures the exhaustion of living with everyday racism. Lala’s character arc is filled with compassion, and the first-person narrative deftly wields aspects of speculative fiction to show how history informs the present. The author approaches other themes, like interracial dating and colorism, with incisive honesty.
A profound reminder that social revolutions are never bloodless or linear victories. (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780316582872
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
A meditation on a timely subject that never forgets to put its characters and their stories first
An Afghani-Australian teen named Mina earns a scholarship to a prestigious private school and meets Michael, whose family opposes allowing Muslim refugees and immigrants into the country.
Dual points of view are presented in this moving and intelligent contemporary novel set in Australia. Eleventh-grader Mina is smart and self-possessed—her mother and stepfather (her biological father was murdered in Afghanistan) have moved their business and home across Sydney in order for her to attend Victoria College. She’s determined to excel there, even though being surrounded by such privilege is a culture shock for her. When she meets white Michael, the two are drawn to each other even though his close-knit, activist family espouses a political viewpoint that, though they insist it is merely pragmatic, is unquestionably Islamophobic. Tackling hard topics head-on, Abdel-Fattah explores them fully and with nuance. True-to-life dialogue and realistic teen social dynamics both deepen the tension and provide levity. While Mina and Michael’s attraction seems at first unlikely, the pair’s warmth wins out, and readers will be swept up in their love story and will come away with a clearer understanding of how bias permeates the lives of those targeted by it.
A meditation on a timely subject that never forgets to put its characters and their stories first . (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-11866-7
Page Count: 402
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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