A simple YA tale but not a bad choice for a quick summer read.
This debut YA novel is the first in a series about the escapades of teenage best friends Kay and Anna.
Kay’s father has just accepted a job in New Jersey, and his 13-year-old daughter is miserable about the move. Not only does she feel lonely without her Florida friends, but as far as she’s concerned, Jersey “[s]ucks.” A visit with her mother to the state’s Washington Crossing State Park, where Gen. George Washington and his troops famously crossed the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War, does nothing to improve Kay’s mood. Her verdict on American history is an unequivocal “[b]or-ring.” But all that changes when she meets Anna and her brother Buddy, whose father is the park’s superintendent. While biking through the park, the three come upon the Johnson Ferry House and discover, hidden in its old fireplace, a letter addressed to a Col. Johann Rall and dated Dec. 22, 1776. Soon after, Kay is nearly forced off her bike by a suspicious van, both girls’ houses are burgled, and Kay and her friends find themselves smack in the middle of an FBI sting operation. The pacing of this slim volume is lively enough, and readers who missed the history lesson on the Delaware crossing will benefit from the quick overview here. However, the ease with which such perfectly ordinary, not to say bland, suburban kids manage to get themselves into and out of trouble may seem simplistic to more sophisticated teens. As a result, this book will likely not appeal to fans of The Hunger Games, or even The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
A simple YA tale but not a bad choice for a quick summer read.Pub Date: April 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1495304057
Page Count: 150
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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
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