Somewhat bland social commentary bookended by SF twists.
In Dikkers’ YA novel, a boy from 1950s America travels through time to the year 2020.
Twelve-year-old Patrick Stoodle lives in Cordial Falls, Nevada, in the year 1957. He’s an introverted boy who, when he’s not worrying about the H-bomb, fuels his imagination with SF comic books and radio programs. Meanwhile, he and his scientist father have an emotionally distant relationship. On Patrick’s birthday, however, his dad gives him the ultimate present—a journey through time to the year 2020. The boy is excited at first, but the experience doesn’t go as planned. America in the future has survived the threat of nuclear war, but there are people fighting in the streets, and a deadly virus is killing thousands. Worse, it turns out that Patrick’s whole life has been a lie: Cordial Falls, it turns out, was created by Patrick’s billionaire father to ease his son’s formative years. As Patrick tries to come to terms with life in 2020, a being claiming to be Jesus Christ appears on Earth, throwing the world into further disarray. Dikkers, a founding editor of The Onion and the creator of the comic strip “Jim’s Journal,” has an easygoing prose style and a good grasp of dialogue. Patrick and the other characters ring true, and the tempo of the story effectively ramps up over the course of its three major movements. However, it’s hard to pin down this work’s target audience. The 1950s time-capsule section seems more likely to appeal to nostalgic grandparents than to a young readership. The next section allows for a child’s view of modern society, but it features adult commentary as much as it does Patrick’s newly awoken impressions. The dénouement manifests as an invasion narrative that promotes rationalism over unthinking religious belief. As intriguing as the novel’s ideas are, they’re more edifying than enjoyable. Indeed, given the book’s title and Dikkers’ resume, readers may be surprised by the dearth of humor here. The only discernible joke is of the joke’s-on-you variety, as the narrative tackles the dark folly of humanity.
Somewhat bland social commentary bookended by SF twists.Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-69-574147-6
Page Count: 282
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2020
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
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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