Family dynamics, love, and dating make for a bracing cuppa.
A romance brews on a tea estate in Bangladesh.
Sixteen-year-old Bibi Hossain finds herself traveling to Sylhet, Bangladesh—far from her Paterson, New Jersey, home—when her older sister, Halima, surprises everyone by announcing her plan to marry. Halima also defers her Princeton Law enrollment; she and her fiancé, Sunny Rahman, plan to spend some time living on Sunny’s family’s tea estate. Even though Bibi’s own family is relatively wealthy—her father founded the Royal Fried Chicken restaurant chain and is a generous donor to their mosque—when she sees the Rahmans’ opulent home, Bibi can’t help but think she’s in a version of Crazy Rich Asians. Never mind the frosty reception from the future in-laws, there’s the added complication of Sunny’s very cute brother, Sohel, who keeps getting Bibi into trouble. Convinced their siblings’ marriage is a “train wreck,” the two team up for Operation Breakup. Complicating matters, Bibi’s grandmother in Bangladesh produces the Great Big Book of Biodatas—possible matches for Bibi to meet. The story has multiple strands, most of them deftly woven together, including some interesting snippets of history, such as the colonial history around tea plantations. While readers may not believe that “Daddy’s little princess” Bibi, who cherishes her Louboutin boots, transforms enough to truly find picking tea leaves “meditative,” this is a quick and fun read about finding love in the most unexpected place.
Family dynamics, love, and dating make for a bracing cuppa. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781665901130
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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
Somberly beautiful.
A girl goes in search of her missing sister and discovers a strange hidden world of dreams.
Corin, who’s 18 and dark-skinned, strives to protect her 12-year-old sister, Elly. But life as a thief is full of struggle, poverty, and loss, even without Corin’s avoidance of other relationships. Elly clings to the promise of fairy tales, like the one that says a princess lies sleeping in an underground castle after pricking her finger on a spindle. After the sisters fight and Elly runs off, Corin searches for her in Gyldan’s old network of tunnels—and finds the tale is true: Cursed Princess Amelia, golden-haired, with eyes like “sea glass” and porcelain skin, lies asleep, surrounded by flowers. Corin enters the princess’ dreamworld—the place “where your subconscious desires come to life.” She meets Briar Rose, Amelia’s alter ego, who experienced her share of sadness and wanted to fall asleep. Also in the dreamworld is green-skinned Malicine, the nonbinary demon who, despite having placed the curse of eternal slumber on Amelia, is mostly friendly. All three are running from things they can’t face, though the dreamworld may not give them a choice. Pham’s debut, a Sapphic reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty,” explores mental health and asks a lot of readers as it seesaws between emotional confrontations, time jumps, and scenes where one character inhabits the memories of another, all of which demand intense engagement. Still, the ending is earned as well as positive.
Somberly beautiful. (content note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9798217113026
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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