A fast-paced yet complex and heart-rending read.
A traumatized abductee returns to his family after having been missing for three years.
Eleven-year-old Sam Walsh was on his way to the mall with his best friend, Josh, when he was abducted by a stranger from his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and taken across the state to Anniston, where he was severely physically and mentally abused. Three years later he returns to his family, seemingly healthy, but as the months go by, the trauma slowly reveals itself as perceived by two narrators: Josh and Sam's older sister, Beth. Sam's return becomes a national media story, and Beth, now a senior in high school, struggles to reidentify herself in the face of new attention from her classmates and the overwhelming upheaval of reconnecting with her lost brother. Josh, struggling to understand his own sexuality, becomes the one person Sam trusts with the discomforting, horrific stories of what happened to him while he was gone. The whole story unfolds in a fast-paced, near-cinematic sweep of Alabama heat, religion, and family drama. Wilson also captures the diversity of one of Alabama’s larger urban centers: though Sam, Beth, and Josh are white, Beth’s friends are African-American and Latina, and the one friend that Sam made while abducted is African-American, to name a few. Readers may find themselves flipping quickly through the Beth narrative to discover the heart of what happened to Sam.
A fast-paced yet complex and heart-rending read. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2782-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
Searing and thoughtful.
An intense look at male body dysmorphia from the author of The Closest I’ve Come (2017).
David Espinoza has always been tormented for his skinny physique, but when the high school bully slaps him in the locker room and catches it on camera, the video becomes a viral meme in his Florida town. The Mexican American teen decides to join a gym and build enough muscle over the summer to lay to rest the incessant teasing. There, he meets bodybuilders who influence him to take steroids in order to speed up the results. With graphic detail, Aceves presents the psychological, physical, and emotional effects of muscle dysmorphia. David’s relationships fall apart—with his family, friends, girlfriend—and the author, who also experienced this disorder in his youth, authentically delineates the ramifications of this illness, which is more prevalent than many believe. After a shocking climax, David finally comes to grips with his addiction, perhaps a little too quickly, but readers won’t mind the not-so-pat resolution. Frank discussions about the sexual lives and drug use of adolescents add authenticity to the story, and the expletive-laden prose makes this more appropriate for older teens. Toxic masculinity, which is cringingly part and parcel of the testosterone-filled world that Aceves portrays, is threaded through the narrative in a contextualized way. David’s friends are mostly Latinx—he has a Puerto Rican girlfriend and a Dominican best friend
Searing and thoughtful. (author’s note, resources) (Realistic fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-248988-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love.
The lives of two Los Angeles girls inhabiting different universes intersect, proving that love knows no bounds.
Brenda Nguyen has a 19-step plan to save the world. Kat Woo is haunted by her legacy as the chosen one, a role she has no interest in. Brenda, working on an environmental science college scholarship application, stumbles into Sammy’s Coffee and Pick-Me-Ups, which Kat’s family owns. As the girls get to know each other, Brenda at last finds someone who’ll listen to her detailed plans, while Kat discovers she has something to look forward to. The girls, who alternate narrating the story, must defy the odds as their worlds begin to collide. As well as being a love story, this is an exploration of familial expectations: Kat is trying to outrun them, while Brenda is driven to fulfill hers. The girls, who are of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, respectively, complement each other: Brenda learns to live in the present, and Kat begins to look to the future. While there are pixie swarms and mana surges, the action takes a back seat to characterization. Lee’s fully developed parallel worlds are alike in many ways, although in Kat’s, you can buy teleportation spells at Target. The cast is rounded out by solid portrayals of the girls’ friends and family, who are important to the plot.
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love. (author’s note, recommended reading) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250778024
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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