With characters and situations readers will recognize, Harbison scores.
An insightful examination of a longtime friendship soured by romance and personality conflicts.
Natalie, the serious one, has been best friends with Brooke, the wild one, for years. Natalie can’t get over her attraction to Brooke’s boyfriend, Aiden, but she does control her actions. When Brooke is finally able to drag Natalie to a wild party, Natalie drinks too much and blacks out, waking to realize that she had sex the night before—but she cannot remember anything about the encounter. She assumes she slept with handsome Eric, who seems truly attracted to her, and continues to spend innocent friendly time with Aiden. Brooke knows that Natalie’s more compatible with Aiden than she is, but she’s determined to defend her territory even as she flirts with other boys. Alternately related by Natalie and Brooke with real-world frankness, the plot covers events through both girls’ eyes, delivering full portraits of each. Readers will be able to spot the flaws in each character and perhaps will guess the book’s surprise, but the emphasis is on character development, not suspense. How do the girls react to undercurrents of emotions that each feels but cannot discuss? Harbison’s good, solid prose displays real insight into the dynamics of the girls’ friendship.
With characters and situations readers will recognize, Harbison scores. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-373-21088-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 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
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
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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