An insightful but uneven tale about athletic achievement.
In this YA novel, a farm boy in rural Vermont discovers his untapped physical prowess and becomes a decathlete.
Skeets Stearns lives in Hackett’s Falls, a small town in the Vermont wilderness near the Canadian border. The son of a farmer, he loves to run wild in the mountains but shies away from participating in high school sports because of his diminutive size and lack of self-confidence. But all that changes when a mysterious stranger arrives at his home: Bill MacColl, a friend of Skeet’s Uncle Jacques, who inexplicably leaves New York City to move into the family’s barn. Little does Skeets know, but Bill is haunted by the trauma of his service as a bomber pilot in Vietnam and saddled with regret over the woman he lost while fighting in the war. Bill was once a track star in the 1960s. He notices that Skeets is blessed with great natural ability and tutors him in track-and-field events. Skeets is amazed by his quick success and joins the track team with the intention of becoming a decathlete as well as winning the attention of the girl he adores from afar, Becky Winslow. He also seems to pine less for competitive glory than a kind of natural liberty, a longing lucidly depicted by Harris: “I guess ’cause I love to run and jump. It makes me feel free. You know, like a bird, or something. Like a mountain lion.” The author deftly captures the nuances of decathlon competition, a remarkable athletic challenge that courts speed and strategy more than simply brute strength. In addition, he intelligently depicts the complex relationship between talent and self-appraisal—Skeets would likely have never discovered his own potential without the encouragement of Bill. But the author’s writing can be a bit sentimental and melodramatic. At times, the book reads more like a motivational speech than a novel.
An insightful but uneven tale about athletic achievement.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-57869-095-4
Page Count: 142
Publisher: Rootstock Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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