Girls who are waiting for further news of Amy and Laura will be happy to find that Mama is able to come home from the hospital after a year's stay. Amy, lively and pragmatic, rushes to the wheelchair to tell Mama all about her problems. Laura, however, is appalled by the heavy woman with gray in her hair and a clumsy steel brace: this is not the Mama she had pictured for so long. And Mama seems to have changed inside, too. When Laura, a conscientious monitor, reports Amy for laughing and talking on the stairs, Mama condemns her for disgracing HER OWN SISTER and rejects the principle involved. For the first time in her life, Laura knows that Mama is wrong. Warned not to upset Mama by controversy, she begins to withdraw from the family. Only when the two girls erupt in a slapping and scratching battle does Mama realize the wall they have built around her and she begins to assume her former place in family affairs. Laura accepts Amy's newly-discovered smartness, which rivals her own, and finds out that she is becoming as attractive in her own way as Amy. Individual incidents are the happy heart of the story: Amy torn between naming sweet, steadfast Rosa or mercurial, daring Cynthia as her Best Friend; Laura struggling to stay on a bike and her elation when she succeeds. This does not have the structural unity of Laura's Luck, but girls who have identified with Amy and Laura in their earlier ups-and-downs will not be disappointed. Amy and Laura remain individuals struggling to reconcile their identity with the inward and outward pressures of growing up. Contemporary, lively, questioning—a superior serial.
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 1966
ISBN: 0595175929
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1966
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 suspenseful story that starts off with great promise but fails to deliver.
A teenage girl struggles with the question of whom to trust in the age of social media exposure.
Thanks to Connie’s mom’s family vlog, her life is anything but private. She enjoyed it at first, but now, between the mean comments online and the cruel mockery from peers in real life, Connie feels like she’s in a prison. Her sister, Isla, says it’s worth it for the money, but Connie isn’t sure if that’s really true. Connie’s anger over Mom’s refusal to heed warnings that revealing so much puts them in danger continues to build. When she’s left alone for two weeks while Mom and Isla go on a college road trip, local girls start dying, and a fan reaches out on social media in an unsettling way, leaving Connie worried about her safety. White-presenting Connie’s sense of humor is charming, and her insights will earn readers’ sympathy as the tension builds. As emotions rise, Preston’s poetic language beautifully captures Connie’s feelings about her mom’s obsession with social media and her confusion about who is worthy of her trust. The topics of safety and the uncharted waters of social media are skillfully woven into the plot. However, some inconsistencies weaken the overall story: Apart from Connie, the characters are too lightly developed, and some plot points don’t align with earlier events and motivations, making the ultimate revelation a disappointment.
A suspenseful story that starts off with great promise but fails to deliver. (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798217028009
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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