Feminists may recoil, but fans of light romance will discover a satisfying weekend read.
Good girl tames bad boy in Constantine’s first novel.
High school junior Wren Caswell has entered her “semester of discontent.” Denied entry to Sacred Heart Academy’s National Honor Society for being “too quiet” and ranked No. 49 out of 102 students, Wren has never stood out from the crowd. Grayson Barrett is a repentant player and self-described “term-paper pimp” trying to distance himself from his crew of baddies and leave his manipulative ways behind. When Wren saves him from choking on a cocktail weenie at a wedding reception held at her family’s banquet hall, the Camelot Inn, their lives become a game of Mars vs. Venus. The stereotypical male-female dynamic takes hold: Wren becomes the reformed con artist’s “moral compass,” and she spends too much time overanalyzing his actions and apparent disses, pretending she doesn’t care when he doesn’t return her texts. Wren and Grayson share the narration chapter by chapter, and their witty banter moves the story along. Nevertheless, it’s still a fairly standard teen love story: Girl and boy from different social circles meet, face obstacles from family and friends, and fall in love.
Feminists may recoil, but fans of light romance will discover a satisfying weekend read. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Dec. 31, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-227948-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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