A wholesome ode to devoted friendship.
Casey Kowalski, new to Miami from Portland, Oregon, became Deaf-Hard of Hearing several months ago.
Casey, who’s white, is adjusting to life between the Hearing and Deaf worlds. She’s determined to make it through junior year without forming any connections as she grieves her identity as a singer and the loss of the friends and boyfriend who dumped her when she lost her hearing. Cuban and Italian American Hayden González-Rossi is expected to follow in the footsteps of his legendary fútbol family, but he dreams of performing on Broadway. The teens’ shared musical passion grows stronger when Casey joins Hayden’s friend group and he becomes her ASL student, creative partner, and closest confidant. The unlikely pair give each other strength to become fully themselves. Langford highlights the social and accessibility issues Casey faces, including auditory fatigue and ableism, alongside Hayden’s realization that he’s struggled for years with generalized anxiety disorder. Unfortunately, many lessons, while vital, are conveyed didactically rather than shown through emotional beats. ASL and simultaneous communication are both described and translated, an effective approach that draws readers into Casey’s experience of language. Her embrace of Deaf identity and culture is a welcome and important touchstone of her journey. The friendship between acerbic, tough, bisexual Casey and soft-hearted, earnest Hayden, who’s asexual and aromantic, is sweetly and unconditionally loving as well as refreshing, given the relative scarcity of portrayals of boy-girl friendships.
A wholesome ode to devoted friendship. (content warning, ASL alphabet, content note, author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780823456246
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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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