A beautifully wrought examination of life’s gray areas and the bonds that guide us through them.
A teenager at the end of his incarceration in juvenile detention recounts the story of his best friend, who disappeared from solitary confinement.
Shortly after Finnegan Kelly’s arrival at a youth correctional facility, he and Clemence Todd are both placed in “administrative segregation”: Clem for speaking up for his classmates, Finn for making a correctional officer uncomfortable. Clem observes, “You don’t do anything unexpected. / You don’t be tall and big. / You don’t do anything tall or big.” When the boys are released from their cells for yard time, they’re only allowed to socialize with one another. Finn, who’s been ill since he came to the facility, tells Clem that he’s found a wormhole in his cell and that he plans to travel back in time and undo the action he regrets most—and then he vanishes, leaving Clem to be questioned by a panel of adults, some well-meaning, some hostile. Clem is a poet who narrates the past in spare, thoughtful verse while conversing with the interrogating adults in present-tense prose. Leavitt accentuates the small scale—two friends, a tiny patch of sky, a notebook, a ribbon, a dog—vividly rendering compact spaces, particularly in the verse passages. Readers are left to weigh little details as evidence for or against Finn’s claims, and though the scales tip slightly to one side, the circumstances remain refreshingly ambiguous. The boys read white.
A beautifully wrought examination of life’s gray areas and the bonds that guide us through them. (Verse fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9781779461094
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
