A refreshing reminder that growth comes from the journey, not just the outcome.
On the cusp of college admissions season, pressure swamps a high school junior’s carefully planned life.
High achiever Miranda obsesses over grades, activities, and applications until stress pushes her to take two of her mom’s pain pills. Her alarmed parents, who are both in recovery, make her pull back from her packed schedule despite her Ivy League dreams. When her hypercompetitive mom injures her back playing roller derby, Miranda uses her newfound free time to step in as her grandfather’s partner for the grueling 260-mile Texas Water Safari canoe race, hoping the experience will help her “write the most amazing college essay.” On the river, punishing heat and portages as well as hallucinations test both paddlers as Miranda slowly learns that finishing with pride matters more than winning. Rounded linework, subtle textures, and a limited, cool-toned palette create a playful, character-driven visual style that sometimes extends beyond traditional panels. Miranda’s own sketches add to the graphic novel’s humor and heart. Miranda and her family present white. Miranda’s diverse friend group is introduced in detail, but these characters receive little development. The story’s early chapters juggle school, family, and friendships before the second half shifts entirely to the race, making the story feel unbalanced. The river sequences deliver the book’s strongest emotional and narrative momentum, ultimately carrying the story to a satisfying, affirming finish.
A refreshing reminder that growth comes from the journey, not just the outcome. (Graphic fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: tomorrow
ISBN: 9781250815194
Page Count: 352
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.
A wary teen wonders if she should run when people come looking for her.
Lucy Smith was raised by her white father, who said little about her mother. Following his death and her stepmother’s abandonment, Lucy entered the foster care system at 14. Her stepmother revealed that Lucy’s birth mom was Native American, but her social worker urged her to keep that quiet. Battered by her time in the foster care system, it’s no wonder that 18-year-old Lucy is cautious when she’s approached by a man who says he’s an attorney who helps Native American foster kids connect with their families and communities. He introduces her to a friend who reveals to Lucy that she knows her Ojibwe maternal relatives—but a wary Lucy refuses her offer to learn more. Someone is stalking her, after all, and the FBI is investigating the bomb that went off in the diner where she worked—an event she’s sure targeted her. This stand-alone from bestseller Boulley, who’s an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes characters her fans will recognize from previous works. The action scenes are mediated by ruminations on the failings of the foster care system and strong portrayals of Lucy’s relationship with her father and her complicated identity. Ardent book lover Lucy is a sympathetic narrator whose strong sense of justice is coupled with a deep acceptance of others.
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements. (content warning, author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328533
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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