A vivid setting and nail-biting events are let down by characterization that lacks heart.
A first-person fictional account of starvation during the siege of Leningrad.
Seventeen-year-old Liza buries her mother in secret so that she can still use her ration cards. Not that it matters much: Nearly a year after fascists surrounded the city, there’s simply no food to be had—the daily allotment is 125 grams of bread, much of that made of sawdust. Liza’s best friend, Aka, tells her about the Mansion, a place where the secret police give girls food in exchange for sexual favors. When Aka goes missing, Liza searches for her and for the Mansion, where she’s sure she will find her. Along the way, she encounters two young men she knew before the war— Maksim, a member of the secret police, and Luka, a musician who lives in the tunnels beneath the city that are rumored to be inhabited by bands of cannibals. Liza’s an unrepentant thief, desperate to survive, but there are lines she won’t cross—or are there? Scott’s Vilnius childhood behind the Iron Curtain adds authenticity to this story; the unrelenting misery and stomach-churning denouement make it an emotionally difficult read. The setting is fully depicted, but the characters never quite come to life, especially Luka and Maksim, who seem more or less interchangeable, and Aka’s father, who is a cardboard villain.
A vivid setting and nail-biting events are let down by characterization that lacks heart. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-374-39006-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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