An awkward, heartbreaking, and uplifting drama of teenage life.
Four best friends face difficulties and hard choices in this high school drama told through a series of journal entries in Nalchajian’s YA novel.
Sixteen-year-old Mackenzie “Mack” Stewart has a secret. For the past six months, she has been struggling with an undiagnosed eating disorder. Determined to gain control of her body, Mack begins a food journal in an effort to stick to her New Year’s resolution: “Stop doing things that are bad for me!” This computer log quickly grows from a personal account of food consumption to a chronicle of her high school life with her three best friends, London, Rachel, and Skye. Nalchajian expertly guides the reader through a whirlwind of crushes, parties, and family drama in which Mack discovers that she’s not the only one with a secret among the people she knows, and that she doesn’t have to face her own alone. In this diarylike novel sprinkled with emojis, charts, self-interviews, and straightforward scenes, Mack discovers the severity of her self-destructive behaviors and embarks on a journey of self-love and acceptance. Although the narrative at times moves at a breakneck pace, Nalchajian manages to balance its speed with skillful characterization and engaging prose: “I wish I could explain these thoughts more realistically….When I write, they sound sequential and logical, but inside it all happens practically at once, like a bunch of people talking over each other.” Overall, it’s a novel that offers a creative take on a sensitive topics, including self-harm, while also maintaining a sharp sense of humor. As a result, it’s likely that this volume will speak to the hearts of adults and teenagers alike.
An awkward, heartbreaking, and uplifting drama of teenage life.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-953435-08-8
Page Count: 449
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
