Detailed and suspenseful.
Sami still hopes that her mother is alive 10 years after she disappeared. She also hopes that her father didn’t murder her.
Every time some new development in the still-open case surfaces, the white teen must dodge the stares of her classmates and the presence of the news media on her lawn. She was 6 when her mother disappeared, and she struggles to remember the events of that day. Meanwhile, although the police have always suspected her father, the detective on the case urges her to keep an open mind even when events again point to her father as the guilty party, and Sami begins, finally, to believe that it might be possible. She develops an ever closer friendship with the handsome nephew of their neighbor, also once a suspect. Even after 10 years a cascade of new evidence turns up. Although Sami dutifully reports everything to the police, nevertheless she ultimately finds herself in great danger even as she realizes who the true culprit might be. Dawn keeps pouring in new facts and new speculations as she winds her way through the labyrinth of evidence and suspicions she builds into her narrative. Present-tense narrator Sami reveals enough of other characters to give them depth and plausibly build the psychological suspense.
Detailed and suspenseful. (Mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-1151-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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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