Despite the issues with the pacing, the accessible writing and occasional humor will keep readers engaged.
An odd pair make an unconventional arrangement in this rushed book for reluctant readers.
Ryan “Replay” Hale is the golden boy of his school’s football team even though he feels ambivalent about the game. Markus is the awkward new kid, an exchange student from Estonia who speaks English with a strong accent. Replay has promise as a budding filmmaker, and a teacher encourages him to apply to UCLA’s film school, but he doesn’t have the confidence, can’t afford the application fee, and his parents are insistent that he try for a football scholarship to college. An opportunity to earn the money he needs presents itself when Markus asks Replay to be his bodyguard after Replay rescues him from a bully. The offer seems like easy money, too good to refuse. For $125 per week, Replay is to accompany Markus to and from school and even allows him to attend a party with him. Markus needs protection from a mysterious person called the Plunger who has connections to the Russian mob. Unfortunately, the relationship between Replay and Marcus feels contrived, and the story ends very abruptly. Replay’s family dynamics are livelier and more engaging than most of the rest of the book, however briefly described. There are no physical clues regarding Replay’s ethnicity.
Despite the issues with the pacing, the accessible writing and occasional humor will keep readers engaged. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2201-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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