A quick moving and emotionally charged but ultimately underdeveloped novel that explores an important subject.
A young woman is sexually abused by a close family friend in this latest novel in verse from veteran poet Sones (Saving Red, 2016, etc.).
Fourteen-year-old Lily has long harbored a crush on her father’s friend Luke and is thrilled to learn that he is going to stay with her family upon his return from a research trip to Kenya. She fervently hopes that he’ll see she is no longer a little kid, “Now / I feel more like a butterfly— / a butterfly who can’t decide / which wings to wear.” Initially, Lily is thrilled when he seems to be returning her interest, but this gives way to palpable dread and shame as he pushes her into progressively more threatening situations. Factors that often play into sexual abuse emerge within this harrowing story, including Luke’s grooming of Lily from a young age and his use of threats to keep her from telling anyone. She becomes isolated from her best friends, Rose and Taylor, and she is already accustomed to her father’s hurtful emotional absence from her life. While realistic, these details sometimes feel a bit rote. All of the main characters seem to be white by default; Luke is English, Taylor is gay, and a caring teacher of Lily’s is described as having brown skin.
A quick moving and emotionally charged but ultimately underdeveloped novel that explores an important subject. (Verse novel. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-237031-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A captivating, action-packed, queer reimagining of the Robin Hood legend through the sharp eyes of his granddaughter.
The once-celebrated Merry Men have lost their way in the years since Robin Hood left the cause, making them nearly as feared as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Serious, unflappable Mariel Hartley-Hood has a lot to live up to as Captain of the Merry Men. Her father is Commander Hartley, and she’s the granddaughter of Robin Hood himself. Her ragtag team is on the right track until a botched kidnapping lands her with a very annoying (and distractingly cute) captive: Clemence Causey. Clem is a wisecracking, skilled natural healer from a far corner of the forest. Eventually, Clem’s humor and lightheartedness chip away at Mariel’s stoic exterior, and sharp banter and tender moments stoke a romantic fire between the two. When Mariel learns that her father has been captured by the Sheriff, the Merry Men (and Clem) embark on a rescue mission. Told from Clem’s and Mariel’s alternating third-person perspectives, this queer enemies-to-lovers romp features a cast of racially diverse Merry Men who, of course, are not all men—the gang members use a variety of pronouns and represent a range of sexualities. Clem and Mariel read white. Croucher peppers their well-paced, witty, and thrilling novel with battle scenes. The story takes as many twists as the winding forest paths and hums with an undercurrent of friendship, honor, and the importance of found family.
A captivating, action-packed, queer reimagining of the Robin Hood legend through the sharp eyes of his granddaughter. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2024
ISBN: 9781250847232
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Remarkably compelling.
Haunted by the specter of violence, two Bribri American brothers contend with their hang-ups and each other as their senior year of high school concludes.
Two weeks have passed since the incident in the Minnesotan woods when Indigenous Costa Rican brothers Jay and Max brutally beat up Luca, the school’s star soccer player, in defense of their cousin Nicole. The brothers are now social pariahs among their peers, enduring counseling sessions to get their lives back on track. At home, daily life remains the same under their father’s brutal hand, leading them to take shifts to ensure that their mother isn’t left unprotected. A rift soon festers between the brothers, who are only 11 months apart in age. Book-smart Jay rebuilds his friendship with Nicole, keeps a cautious eye on Luca, and tries to hold himself together for his mom, all to the detriment of his homework. Meanwhile, Max remains dedicated to securing a spot at his dream art school and embarking on a secret relationship with classmate Melody, consciously trying to avoid Jay’s dragging him down or problems at home from stunting the rest of his life. In this striking, assured debut exhibiting a measured pace and delicate writing, Tison (Bribri) probes the ties of adolescent brotherhood and ways the effects of violence can stall self-directed growth. The author peels apart each brother’s bruised psyche by ingeniously rotating among Jay’s tense vignettes, Max’s wistful verses, and Bribri cultural elements to underscore their anguished journey to reconciliation.
Remarkably compelling. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-374-38949-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
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