A well-conceived novel that delves into some potentially important issues for young adults.
Budding photographer Simon documents the end of his high school experience in this YA debut novel from the Pennyeach Collective.
It’s time for Simon’s high school graduation, but looking back at the last three years of his life isn’t easy considering all the friends he’ll have to say goodbye to. The novel opens with Simon reviewing an imagined photo album from his sophomore to senior years. The very first photo is from his sophomore year French class, when he began learning photography using his grandfather’s old Leica M3; around this time, he also became best friends with classmates Hailey Parker and Benji. At the time, Hailey harbored dreams of becoming a journalist, Benji rebelled against his conservative family, and Simon cautiously contemplated a future in art school. The dynamic among the three friends is tested when Hailey and Benji begin dating. But it isn’t until Hailey becomes pregnant during their senior year that everything changes. She decides she wants an abortion, but the procedure can’t be done in Ohio because her family might find out. So with the help of Hailey’s friend Kaylee, they all set out on a road trip to New Mexico (where abortions can be given without parental consent) that will change the course of their lives forever. Obviously taking into account the sensitive nature of Hailey’s determination to have an abortion, the narration retains a respectful distance from the tougher details of her experience, especially as the story is told from Simon’s perspective. The author is guilty of some heavy-handed foreshadowing as Simon describes his early high school travails. Overall, however, Simon’s speech and actions feel authentically teenage: “I guess I was naive, but I thought for sure they’d end up getting married some day. And this picture captures that moment when I bet Hailey and Benji would’ve said the same.” The novel may remind readers of John Green’s Paper Towns (2013), especially the road-trip scenes. The absence of the actual photos that Simon describes leaves space for readers to imagine the characters in their own ways, though perhaps the addition of a visual component would make the photo album experience come to life.
A well-conceived novel that delves into some potentially important issues for young adults.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 223
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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
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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