Broadly appealing and free of the melodrama often associated with half-this, half-that issue books.
Schisms abound in the life of a half-black, white-passing, Jewish teen in New York City.
Since her parents separated, 15-year-old Nevaeh and her mother, who is deeply depressed, have lived in Harlem with her mother’s family, headed by her Baptist pastor grandfather. Not to be pushed out, her religiously unobservant father has set Nevaeh up with a rabbi to prepare for a slightly belated bat mitzvah. But rather than help Nevaeh feel more connected to her Jewish heritage, having to study Torah with elementary schoolers just adds to the disjointedness in her life. Her black cousins think she doesn’t understand their struggles, and wealthy kids at her fancy school treat her with derision. Her best friend, Stevie, is the one person who gets her, but when she starts dating Jesus, a neighborhood boy (his name’s pronounced the Spanish way—and there is not enough angst or Jewish humor paid to that irony), and spending more time pursuing a new passion, poetry, tensions arise. Sophomore year is fraught for Nevaeh, and for the most part debut author Díaz wields it smoothly, save for one forced plot device in the form of her mother’s old diary. In Díaz’ skillful hands, the many aspects of Nevaeh's intersectional identity are woven together so that they are, as in real life, inextricable from each other.
Broadly appealing and free of the melodrama often associated with half-this, half-that issue books. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-57823-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
A powerful tale of found family and first love.
After a year away, Ellis returns home to confront her past.
Graduating from high school far from everything familiar was not part of Ellis Truman’s original plans, but she nevertheless ended up spending her senior year with her aunt in California. In Indiana, Ellis practically grew up with the Albrey family and their three tightknit sons, Dixon, Tucker, and Easton. Now, Tucker wants her to return home for matriarch Sandry Albrey’s 50th birthday celebration on the Fourth of July—but Ellis is dreading seeing Easton, as they haven’t talked since she left. Chapters alternate between past and present, and much of the story unravels slowly: How did she come to live with the Albreys? What caused Ellis to then end up in San Diego? What happened in her relationship with Easton? Patient readers will find the heartfelt tension pays off. With her father in and out of jail and an absent mother, socio-economic differences separating Ellis from the middle-class Albreys don’t go unnoticed, and Ellis’ down-to-earth journey shows how she unpacks her feelings about her relationship with her parents. The slow-build romance is swoonworthy, and young adult fans of Colleen Hoover seeking emotional devastation and unforgettable characters will find much to enjoy here. Characters read as White.
A powerful tale of found family and first love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-308853-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)
In the three years following Eden’s brutal rape by her brother’s best friend, Kevin, she descends into anger, isolation, and promiscuity.
Eden’s silence about the assault is cemented by both Kevin’s confident assurance that if she tells anyone, “No one will ever believe you. You know that. No one. Not ever,” and a chillingly believable death threat. For the remainder of Eden’s freshman year, she withdraws from her family and becomes increasingly full of hatred for Kevin and the world she feels failed to protect her. But when a friend mentions that she’s “reinventing” herself, Eden embarks on a hopeful plan to do the same. She begins her sophomore year with new clothes and friendly smiles for her fellow students, which attract the romantic attentions of a kind senior athlete. But, bizarrely, Kevin’s younger sister goes on a smear campaign to label Eden a “totally slutty disgusting whore,” which sends Eden back toward self-destruction. Eden narrates in a tightly focused present tense how she withdraws again from nearly everyone and attempts to find comfort (or at least oblivion) through a series of nearly anonymous sexual encounters. This self-centeredness makes her relationships with other characters feel underdeveloped and even puzzling at times. Absent ethnic and cultural markers, Eden and her family and classmates are likely default white.
Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4935-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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