A richly realized coming-of-age story about discovering one’s roots and the nuances of family relationships.
When Rudra Solace’s maternal grandmother from India visits his family in Patonga, New South Wales, he starts to question his identity and the familiarity he feels with a woman he had never met.
Will Didima help Rudra find his roots when life as he knows it is thrown into upheaval? Rudra is on summer break and has been spending his days surfing with his best friend, Maggs Briley—that is, when he’s not being forced to help his father, Cord, with the family fishing business. Cord, who is White, has a tight, invisible leash wound around his family, and both Rudra’s and his mother Nayna’s every action bears the shadow of Cord’s strong hold. Things change when Rudra discovers an unusual object while fishing, and soon he and his mother are off on an adventure to India. Grant captures the layers that come with multigenerational relationships. Lovely interactions between Rudra and his Didima—as well as the stories he hears about his own mother and who she was before she married Cord—give Rudra a strong character arc, from discovering there is more to life than fishing in a small town to being bullied, having his identity as a biracial person called into question, and owning both his Indian and Australian identities. This thoughtful book is reminiscent of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (2004).
A richly realized coming-of-age story about discovering one’s roots and the nuances of family relationships. (map) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-76063-187-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: A & U Children/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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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