by Natasha Friend ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 7, 2017
Those facing similar quests to find birth parents will find this story comforting.
Two teens that share a sperm donor go on a quest to find their father.
Hollis Darby-Barnes and Milo Robinson-Clark, both white teens and 14 and 15 respectively, are children of lesbian couples that used the same sperm donor. Milo lives in Brooklyn and suffers a host of allergies that lead his nonbiological mother, Frankie, to smother him. He contacts Hollis on a whim; they haven’t spoken since they were 7, but Milo wants to find their father—both to scour his medical records and because he’s angry at Frankie—and he doesn’t want to do it alone. Hollis lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with her mom, Leigh, who still mourns the loss of her partner, Pam, who died years ago. Impatient with her mother’s grief, Hollis isn’t interested in the past. However, Leigh sees this family reconnection as orchestrated by Pam and jets them off to Brooklyn. It’s not long before Milo and Hollis discover they have more family out there than they imagined. The close third-person narration shifts perspective between Hollis and Milo, the protagonists reading as older than their chronological ages. Both meet conflicts with requisite angst—but although the characters are fully developed, there’s little tension to keep readers hooked. The story ends up feeling light despite the characters’ emotional journeys.
Those facing similar quests to find birth parents will find this story comforting. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-30234-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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New York Times Bestseller
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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by Daniel Aleman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021
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
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