The self-published memoir of a young man who traveled from Ethiopia as a refugee to the US and eventually to Harvard is now being brought to YA audiences as a widely publicized paperback reprint. Asgedom’s story is compelling; after three years in a refugee camp in the Sudan, his family—mother, father, brother, and sisters—made their way to the Chicago area where, thanks to their own faith and grit and the everyday generosity of their community, they managed to establish a life for themselves. The most vivid character to emerge from this rather scattershot collection of memories is the author’s father, a medical professional in Ethiopia who became a janitor in the US. In upper-case letters, he enjoins his sons to achieve at all costs or “I WILL MAKE YOU LOST.” At other moments, he reflects with great glee on his success in helping fellow refugees work their way around the American legal system. After delivering the commencement address at his graduation from Harvard, the author went on to become a motivational speaker, and, unfortunately, this memoir carries the dual burden of too much motivation and too little editing. The formal prose frequently approaches the histrionic, as in this description of the family’s journey from Ethiopia to Sudan: “Even stories fail me as I try to recall the rest of our journey. I know only that the wilderness took its toll, that our young bodies gave way, and that we entered a more barren and deadly internal wilderness.” Too, there is more than a hint of self-aggrandizement, as when the author describes his high-school track training: “Fueled by my improvement during the cross-country season, I kept training throughout the brutal Illinois winter. I ran almost 400 outdoor miles . . . The discipline brought results. In track, I ran the anchor leg on our all-state 4 x 800-meter-relay team. We won our conference championship . . . ” Still, there is much in this account for the judiciously selective reader to ponder, and it does genuinely represent a significant portion of the contemporary American experience. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-316-82620-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Megan Tingley/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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