An involving and easy-to-read story of athletics and building character.
A high school football player learns the consequences of lying and cheating in Thompson’s YA novella.
Tennison “Ten Cent” Sanders is a receiver on his school’s football team—football is his life. School is solely something he has to endure until he gets to football practice; he plans to play for the pros when he gets older. He already has scouts coming to watch his games and believes his future is set. As school is not a priority, Tennison relies on copying from his deskmate during tests, using cheat sheets, or copying from websites to write his papers. Unfortunately, Tennison’s teachers are on to him, and he gets caught and given a “NoPass” on his science test. With his grades dropping below a C average, he knows he won’t be allowed to play in that night’s game. Unable to face his teammates and coach, Tennison goes to the nurse with a fake ankle injury and misses the game. While stuck at home, he overhears his mother and grandfather talking about how Tennison is turning out just like his father, who always has a lie ready for every occasion (“Her words feel like a slap”). Unwilling to let himself fall into the same bad habits as his father, Tennison admits everything to his family—but that’s the easy part. How is he going to face his teachers, his coach, and his teammates with what he’s done? Will he even be able to play football again? In this contemporary YA tale, Thompson delivers a story that is sure to appeal to teens who love sports and look to them as an escape. With a clear message about the hazards of being dishonest and guidance on coming back from making mistakes, the narrative deftly imparts lessons without becoming overbearing. The short chapters and easy language make this an ideal book for reluctant or struggling readers, but anyone will be able to find enjoyment in following Tennison’s trials.
An involving and easy-to-read story of athletics and building character.Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2021
ISBN: 9781737315735
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Bookstock Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 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
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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