An exciting premise lacking punch and precision.
Muay thai champion Kareena Thakkar is presented with the opportunity to participate in the prestigious U.S. Muay Thai Open, potentially leading to the Olympics.
Seventeen-year-old Indian American Kareena has a full plate: Not only is she an athlete with an intense workout schedule and a hardworking student, but since her terminally ill father is in and out of the hospital and her overworked mother struggles to make ends meet, Kareena is in charge of running the household as well. When she is offered a chance to compete at the USMTO, Kareena is thrilled but isn’t sure she can afford to go. Further, Kareena’s attraction to Amit Patel, a model Indian boy, complicates her sense of belonging. She feels conflicted about her relationship with the Indian American community, as muay thai is considered to be neither Indian nor feminine. Patel paints a badass female athlete who is stubborn and proud but yearns to be accepted by a community she isn’t sure she identifies with. In many ways this novel offers readers a respite from the tired tropes of Indian American realistic fiction, but it falls flat, as the writing is clunky, the ending clichéd and predictable, and the dialogues often torrential outpourings spewed by characters standing on metaphorical soapboxes. The supporting characters, while wonderfully diverse and offering a supportive female circle, are unrealistically perfect and mostly exist only to support Kareena.
An exciting premise lacking punch and precision. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63583-059-0
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
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
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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