Exhaustive research, immersive storytelling, and emotional depth make for a superlative tale.
War is hell.
After their bloody baptism under fire in North Africa (Front Lines, 2016), the three “soldier-girl” protagonists of a slightly altered World War II move on to serve in the invasion of Italy. Rio Richlin, once a naïve white California farm girl, continues her transformation into a seasoned soldier—and killer. Frangie Marr, the gentle African-American medic, finds both her body and her faith strained to the breaking point by the violence that engulfs her. And Rainy Schulterman, the ruthless Jewish intelligence operative, is commandeered into a half-baked mission that strands her in her worst nightmare. The underlying theme of this volume is heroism, and there is gallantry aplenty on display, but the courage of each young woman labors in the midst of minutely depicted horror: tedium and filth, brutality and slaughter, sudden death and prolonged torture. Even worse are the vile (and authentically portrayed) sexism, racism, and anti-Semitism from their comrades and the callous indifference of the top brass to the pointless waste of life. Yet there are also the sweet grace of friendship, loyalty, and humor in the ranks, the muddled complications of romance and sex (these are teenagers, after all), and the mutual respect and care between the common troops and the noncommissioned officers who fight beside them.
Exhaustive research, immersive storytelling, and emotional depth make for a superlative tale. (glossary, bibliography) (Alternate history. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-234218-8
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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