An honest depiction of OCD paired with a cute queer romance.
A nonbinary high schooler in Seattle finds romance while dealing with their mental health.
Sidney Walker has big plans for their junior year, with aspirations to become president of the Queer Alliance. Unfortunately for them, their nemesis, Forrest Hirschler, also decides to run—and when the votes are tied, Sidney must serve as co-president with someone who doesn’t even care about the club. Forrest once said the QA was corny and pointless, and now that he’s helping to run things, all he wants to do is throw a party. However, as the two learn to work together, friendship—and then something more—begins to blossom. While the romance is sweet, it’s easily overshadowed by the much more powerful plotlines exploring Sidney’s relationship with their father, a newly recovering alcoholic, and their struggles with increasingly upsetting intrusive thoughts and feelings of anxiety. The prose is uneven; at times, it veers toward over-explanation, slowing the pace with unnecessary details. But when it’s at its best, the writing is readable and straightforward, depicting Sidney’s feelings and experiences authentically and poignantly. Teens seeking a realistic and compassionate depiction of mental health challenges and those who enjoy low-key love stories will find this novel resonates. Sidney and Forrest are cued white, and their friend group is racially diverse.
An honest depiction of OCD paired with a cute queer romance. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781419764998
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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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