Insightful and creepy, if slightly uneven.
An autistic high schooler gets trapped in a nightmare when her friends disappear during a hike.
Cassie Davis hasn’t spoken to her best friends, Blake, Melody, and Jac, since she moved from middle-of-nowhere Deep Glen, New York, to New York City four years ago. She couldn’t tell them how her autism diagnosis and a breakdown led to her parents’ divorce, culminating in Cassie and her mother’s move back to Deep Glen. When her friends invite Cassie on their weeklong hike in the Catskills, Cassie agrees, hoping to mend their rifts. Instead, arguments abound, Cassie wakes to find Jac and Melody gone, and then a storm separates her from Blake. Fortunately, she’s rescued by handsome Kaleb, who invites her to take shelter in the Roost, an off-grid community. Kaleb and his mother understand Cassie better than her own mother, who pressures Cassie to overachieve even though her autism, anxiety, and trichotillomania overwhelm her. But why does it seem like they don’t want Cassie and her friends to reunite? Though some secondary characters feel underdeveloped and some plot points remain unresolved, Grothe’s debut novel viscerally depicts Cassie’s anger and discomfort as she grapples with self-doubt and the emotional toll of masking. Ominous crows and uncanny dolls deepen the uneasy atmosphere, which is further charged by romantic tension between Cassie, who’s pansexual, and Jac, who’s queer. Most characters read white, and Jac is Jewish.
Insightful and creepy, if slightly uneven. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781682637777
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
