A quick-moving, original, and poignant read.
A young woman struggling mightily with family dysfunction spends a year abroad in Norway in this verse novel set in the early 1980s.
The story is told in the second person from the point of view of an unnamed narrator living in Southern California with parents whose time, attention and resources are entirely consumed by her older brother who has a substance use disorder. The rapidly moving chapters quickly establish her overwhelming frustration and anger with her family. After they drain her college savings account to pay for her brother to go to rehab, her hopes of escape are dashed. Her friend Alison easily convinces her to apply for a Rotary scholarship to study abroad for her senior year, a decision that proves transformative. Freeman weaves rich details into short chapters that vividly establish the settings of both countries, like a late-night drive with Alison into Hollywood, where the girls listen to Irene Cara’s “What a Feeling,” and renting videos and eating karamellpudding for dessert with her supportive and caring host family in Gledevik, which lies above the Arctic Circle. Perhaps by design, the motivations of secondary characters—from her parents, who are almost unbelievably one-note in their neglect of her, to her friends and her Norwegian love interest, Espen—are minimally explored in this narrowly focused tale of a young woman finding her way. Characters largely present white.
A quick-moving, original, and poignant read. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781665988407
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 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
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