An inspirational tale bogged down by wooden dialogue and over-the-top melodrama.
A high school senior living in poverty does everything he can to make his dream of attending college come true in Thompson’s YA novel.
Gilbert Neely is a senior at Edison High School who dreams of becoming a teacher. But that requires a college degree, which demands both the grades to get a scholarship and the money to even apply. Gilbert quietly works toward his goal by helping his father drive around each night collecting cans for recycling in order to earn some desperately needed money. But despite how hard they work, the family’s problems just seem to keep piling up: The landlord has decided to raise the rent, Gilbert’s father starts secretly drinking again, and Gilbert’s attempt to study for an important statistics exam becomes that much harder when the Neelys can no longer afford internet access at home. Gilbert’s frustrations finally come to a head when a school bully vandalizes his locker and his actions put Gilbert’s entire future in jeopardy. With the help of his crush, Fiona, and a teacher who won’t give up on him, Gilbert learns that the path to success rarely follows a straight line. Thompson writes in short, simple sentences that are ideal for young readers, but while Gilbert’s perseverance is certainly moving, many moments rapidly veer from inspirational to maudlin. Gilbert walks to school with his cousin Billy, for example, and observes: “His limp is almost gone. It’s been eight months since the car accident. His mom and dad were killed. And he’s still recovering from his skull fracture. But he never complains. And he never gives up.” This sentimentality, combined with stiff dialogue (“You know how it is…He lives on the other side of the train bridge”), undercuts the emotional reaction that the Neely family’s plight stirs up. While readers will cheer Gilbert along his path, the journey ultimately proves a bit too saccharine-sweet.
An inspirational tale bogged down by wooden dialogue and over-the-top melodrama.Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2023
ISBN: 9798989065745
Page Count: 119
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2025
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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