Despite clear good intentions, the book's focus on victimization is ultimately distancing, creating a likable-but-alienating...
A 14-year-old flees a terrible home situation only to land in child prostitution.
Michelle lives in North Philadelphia with her drug-addicted mother. When Michelle's mom, unable to stop her sexual predator boyfriend from attempting to assault her daughter, evicts Michelle from their home, Michelle has nowhere to go. She hops a bus to New York City, where a young man is kind to her in the bus station. Devon takes Michelle to his home, and soon she finds herself mired in enforced prostitution among the Bloods. She befriends her fellow underage prostitutes, who convince her to use drugs to soften the blow of the repeated rapes. At least Michelle's abuse isn't as horrifying as that of 12-year-old Baby, who's intentionally infantilized and repeatedly sold to pedophiles. Michelle rockets from one variety of victimization to another with little time to develop a relationship with readers, a device that may be true to life (Kern interviewed former child prostitutes as part of her research) but that keeps Michelle and her misery safely at a distance. There's a generic quality to her character that may represent the experience in broad strokes but that gives readers little to latch on to. Though some teen readers may be moved to take action, as the author hopes, more may well just be happy they are not Michelle.
Despite clear good intentions, the book's focus on victimization is ultimately distancing, creating a likable-but-alienating protagonist. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-226695-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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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