Teen readers need realistic novels set in contemporary Latin America that capture culture while avoiding stereotypes, but...
Brutality and poverty threaten the life of a young girl in Paraná, Argentina.
At 14, Victoria Díaz has already lost both parents: one to domestic violence and the other to apathy. She and her younger, twin brothers live with an aunt and her boyfriend in Doña Norma’s house until the boyfriend’s sexual advances cause Victoria to run away. While she meets some well-meaning strangers, the streets of the city are rough, teeming with gang members, drug dealers and other unsavory characters. Victoria must navigate this chaotic world while trying to get back into school and reunite with her brothers. Native Argentine Goldemberg has an unending supply of obstacles to put in Victoria’s path. The author dedicates the novel to “the children who suffer from violence and poverty,” but she almost makes a mockery of their suffering through a combination of two-dimensional characters, hackneyed dialogue, unbelievable coincidences, poor transitions and a very tidy ending. Spanish and Italian words and South American slang provide some initial interest in the otherwise lackluster conversations, but they soon wear, especially when combined with the snippets of song lyrics scattered throughout the novel.
Teen readers need realistic novels set in contemporary Latin America that capture culture while avoiding stereotypes, but Goldemberg’s effort fails to engage. (glossary, song list) (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-896580-95-1
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A smart, timely outing.
Two teens connect through a mysterious podcast in this sophomore effort by British author Oseman (Solitaire, 2015).
Frances Janvier is a 17-year-old British-Ethiopian head girl who is so driven to get into Cambridge that she mostly forgoes friendships for schoolwork. Her only self-indulgence is listening to and creating fan art for the podcast Universe City, “a…show about a suit-wearing student detective looking for a way to escape a sci-fi, monster-infested university.” Aled Last is a quiet white boy who identifies as “partly asexual.” When Frances discovers that Aled is the secret creator of Universe City, the two embark on a passionate, platonic relationship based on their joint love of pop culture. Their bond is complicated by Aled’s controlling mother and by Frances’ previous crush on Aled’s twin sister, Carys, who ran away last year and disappeared. When Aled’s identity is accidently leaked to the Universe City fandom, he severs his relationship with Frances, leaving her questioning her Cambridge goals and determined to win back his affection, no matter what the cost. Frances’ narration is keenly intelligent; she takes mordant pleasure in using an Indian friend’s ID to get into a club despite the fact they look nothing alike: “Gotta love white people.” Though the social-media–suffused plot occasionally lags, the main characters’ realistic relationship accurately depicts current issues of gender, race, and class.
A smart, timely outing. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-233571-5
Page Count: 496
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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