A bold, contemporary tale grounded by a likable and complex teen narrator.
A teenager confronts questions of identity in this YA coming-of-age novel.
Thirteen-year-old Pilar Lasky has lived in Brooklyn with her father since her mother died. An aspiring writer, Pilar has put her feelings about life with her perky dad in a play that will soon be performed at school. But the work lacks an ending, and Pilar still needs to convince the teachers to let her play her own father. (“I believe in color-blind and gender-blind casting!” she declares to her drama teacher.) For the precocious Pilar, notions of fluid identities are everywhere. Her real name is Penelope, but she changes it every year. She has a Syrian best friend, Zeina, who is grappling with becoming Americanized. She also has Johnny: a cute boy but one whom she used to know as Jasmine before he came out as transgender. But Pilar’s sense of self is challenged when she discovers her mother’s diary. The disturbing writings reveal a confused woman and force Pilar to reconsider what people mean when they use the word crazy. The diary also discloses a devastating family secret that Pilar must confront before she can finally finish her play and discover who she really is. Laskin’s novel covers today’s most controversial topics—gender, mental illness, eating disorders, and racism—but, thankfully, never feels like an after-school special on diversity. The author’s Brooklyn feels organic and fully realized as she embraces mature plot points through Pilar’s peppy, sassy narration. (“Amusing, I guess,” the teen says, responding to one of her dad’s lame jokes, showing her talent for succinct zingers.) The inclusion of blog entries, psych evaluations, and the script for Pilar’s play attempts to vary the perspectives, but the story is strongest when it’s in the protagonist’s head, following her thoughtful and understandably convoluted reactions to a complicated world.
A bold, contemporary tale grounded by a likable and complex teen narrator.Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63752-818-1
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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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