An ambitious novel that doesn’t quite coalesce.
Annie turns to childhood make-believe to cope with devastating events.
When they were small, Annie and her older brother, Jamie, invented the fantastical world of Gumlea where Annie became the Emperata Annit and Jamie was first Prince Jamin and, later, the Nameless Boy, the one who was different—in this made-up world as well as in reality. Gumlea soon became an escape as Jamie struggled with parental gender expectations and Annie felt a void growing between them. Thirteen-year-old Jamie’s sudden disappearance leaves Gumlea as 12-year-old Annie’s only link to her brother—and it functions for her as a coping mechanism as she holds out hope over the years that she can find him. Gumlea’s role as a reflection of the main plot seems disjointed at times: The epilogue (which appears at the beginning of the book) and prologue (which comes at the end) are both set there, but they have no clear connection with the main plot, unlike other scenes which clearly serve as mirrors to events taking place in this world. Gumlea is fleshed out well enough that it could serve as the focus of a stand-alone story, but in this context, it never really gets its time to shine. The central storyline, meanwhile, stretches past its natural cathartic endpoint, feeling stretched thin by the finish. Annie and Jamie have a Jewish mother and Christian father; main characters default to White, and there is queer representation in the book.
An ambitious novel that doesn’t quite coalesce. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-284115-5
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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