Not every high-school senior gets to plan her mother’s fifth wedding the week after graduation, but then, not everybody has a mother who is a famous romance novelist either. Remy is not the average grad heading off to college at Stanford; she’s perfectly organized, neat, tidy, on time, and boy-smart, having learned from her mother’s experiences that commitments are too risky to take. This summer will be her usual: a receptionist job at Jolie Salon, nightly gatherings with her three girlfriends at the Quik Zip and music clubs, and a temp boyfriend, no strings attached. Mom’s #5 is the owner of Don Davis Motors whom she met when she went to buy a new car. Ironically, it was in Don’s showroom that Remy met Dexter, the antithesis of her usual guy: clumsy, messy, impetuous, and persistent, but, worst of all, a musician. Despite her own rules about boys, Remy finds herself drawn to Dexter, but her feelings and trust in him crumble when his band, Truth Squad, plays “This Lullaby”—her song, emotional crutch, and the only gift from the father she never knew. Written for her by her hippie, songwriter father, Husband #1, when he disappeared from her life, the now-famous song echoes the sentiment that he—and men—will always let you down. As her mom’s latest marriage dissolves in a puddle of deceit, bad clichés, and cans of Ensure, Remy caves in to her own subverted emotions. Remy’s voice rings true with realistic dialogue and emotional traumas. Insightful writing, distinctive characters, and a contemporary scene where sex and music rule, compose a melody worth reading. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-670-03530-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2002
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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
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