The author of Good Night, Mr. Tom (1982) returns to WW II with a story about three genteel British sisters, on their own when the woman hired to care for them is suddenly drafted. Though Diana, 21, Lettie, 19, and protagonist Rose, almost 18, are also old enough for war service, their sheltered education has left them unprepared for practical tasks. Still, Mum (an actress performing for the troops) is out of reach, Dad has recently been killed, and—after dithering about impropriety—they seize the chance for independence. The primitive vacation cottage is a challenge; more significantly, village life awakens them to the realities of relations between the sexes in wartime. Diana makes friends with an unwed mother, to Lettie's horror; at first equally judgmental, Rose comes to champion the girl whose own parents have disowned her. Reading a diary account of the tragic WW I romance of their cottage's deceased owner, ``Mad Hilda''; observing Diana's sudden, deep love for a soldier on leave; her own clumsy first bedding with a callow youth who urges his suit on the grounds that he's sure to die soon—all prepare Rose for a sweet, more mature relationship with Alec, a shell-shocked Dunkirk hero who shares her literary inclinations. With a satisfyingly dramatic plot (including the reappearance as an adult of the child so cruelly wrenched from Hilda long ago), plenty of likable characters, an authentic, vividly evoked setting, and several contrasting love stories- -especially Rose and Alec's tenderly warming friendship—an unusually engrossing and memorable novel. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Aug. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-06-024214-0
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1992
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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