A mixed bag.
An art heist goes horribly wrong, and the survivors are left to deal with the fallout.
Georgia Perry, James Whitby, Circe Shams, and Jules Park were YouTube ghost hunters, with Georgia and her not-so-secret girlfriend, Jules, as the on-screen personalities. In reality, the teens targeted locations with paintings that they replaced with artist Circe’s forgeries. But their last job ended with Jules dead, lying on the floor beneath their target—a painting of a drowned woman—and no one knows who killed her. Now the remaining three—seniors at private school Umber Academy—are struggling: Circe can’t paint anything in her art classes, James is desperately seeking college tuition funds (since they weren’t paid for the botched job), and Georgia hardly leaves her dorm room. Their fixer, Andrew Lark, demands they finish the job, but the ghost isn’t done with them yet. This debut has sparks of real potential, for example, in its strong, moody voice and exploration of the devastating effects of grief. But other elements feel awkward: In some parts of the book, readers must piece together how everything is related, leaving them adrift in confusion in ways that feel frustrating rather than intriguing. Additionally, because the story opens after Jules’ death, readers mostly hear about her, meeting her only in fleeting interstitial transcripts from the show, which limits the emotional impact of her death. Circe is Christian and Palestinian American, and the other leads present white.
A mixed bag. (Supernatural. 14-18)Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: 9781665958332
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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