As Nicolò morphs from street kid to orphanage crasher to Europe’s foremost solo clarinetist, abetted by a fascinating pair...
Accomplished poet and novelist Christopher delivers a debut for teens thickly woven with 18th-century Venetian intrigue and metaphysical magic.
Nicolò Zen, a mason’s son, possesses an enchanted ivory clarinet—acquired by his father through barter—along with an innate talent for reading and interpreting music. His rustic life on the tiny island of Mazzorbo is sundered when a malaria epidemic fells his parents and three sisters. Aided by a neighbor, the 14-year-old orphan survives his own fever and heads to Venice. After several uneasy nights on the street, Nicolò auditions for an orphanage’s esteemed orchestra, overseen by the Master, Vivaldi himself. The catch: Nicolò must disguise himself as a girl. Despite his tenuous charade, he befriends several girls and the cook but soon confronts the Ospedale della Pietà’s sinister backdrop of human trafficking and conspiracy. Nicolò’s first-person narration is delivered, memoirlike, from a mature perspective. This limits the in-the-moment impact of a teen boy’s adventures, which include sexual initiation and first love. Happy endings click into place for the good guys and girls here, with a sequel intimated even as Nicolò and his bride settle down in Modena.
As Nicolò morphs from street kid to orphanage crasher to Europe’s foremost solo clarinetist, abetted by a fascinating pair of magician brothers, engrossed readers should gladly ride the plot’s twists and turns. (Fantasy. 12 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-375-86738-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2013
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
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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