A heartfelt, grim glimpse of addiction’s fallout.
Vivid realism reaches impressive heights in this novel in verse.
Ninth grader Ceti is a star soccer player struggling with a future she can barely imagine and a drug-abusing mother. Her bleak past includes living in a truck, and though memories of her grandfather are warm, his absence stings. Ceti’s history of strained friendships resulting from the deception and emotional upheaval of living with an addicted parent contrast with the vital joy and respite of the soccer field and the attention of a supportive coach. The emotional heart of the story is expressed in the poem “Jigsaw Puzzle,” in which Ceti weighs the limits of her agency. Ceti’s romantic interest, Will, is cued as Afro-Latinx and her best friend, Ruby, is Black and White. As a White girl, Ceti’s perceptions of race—e.g., that Ruby has it easier because she’s biracial, and her lack of reflection on her mother’s nickname for her, Indian Girl—seem naïve but may reflect the social-emotional limits of a young person raised in a traumatic environment. Impulse control issues and a crisis at home jeopardize her faith in the future she’s working toward. The emotional complexity makes this a good option for serious readers, with each tightly crafted poem delivering a shudderingly beautiful piece to the story. The use of white space and font size and concrete poetic techniques throughout capture the searing moments that define Ceti’s perceived options and powerful journey.
A heartfelt, grim glimpse of addiction’s fallout. (Verse novel. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64603-170-2
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Fitzroy Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A standing ovation.
Tackles family secrets, toxic masculinity, and socio-economic differences with incisive clarity and candor.
Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic and yearns to go to Columbia University in New York City, where her father works most of the year. Yahaira Rios, who lives in Morningside Heights, hasn’t spoken to her dad since the previous summer, when she found out he has another wife in the Dominican Republic. Their lives collide when this man, their dad, dies in an airplane crash with hundreds of other passengers heading to the island. Each protagonist grieves the tragic death of their larger-than-life father and tries to unravel the tangled web of lies he kept secret for almost 20 years. The author pays reverent tribute to the lives lost in a similar crash in 2001. The half sisters are vastly different—Yahaira is dark skinned, a chess champion who has a girlfriend; Camino is lighter skinned, a talented swimmer who helps her curandera aunt deliver neighborhood babies. Despite their differences, they slowly forge a tenuous bond. The book is told in alternating chapters with headings counting how many days have passed since the fateful event. Acevedo balances the two perspectives with ease, contrasting the girls’ environments and upbringings. Camino’s verses read like poetic prose, flowing and straightforward. Yahaira’s sections have more breaks and urgent, staccato beats. Every line is laced with betrayal and longing as the teens struggle with loving someone despite his imperfections.
A standing ovation. (Verse novel. 14-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-288276-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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