A realistically messy, poignant portrayal of family, disability, and sibling love.
A family road trip leads to misadventures and revelations.
Seventeen-year-old Kaley Larssen would do anything for her older sister, Zoey, who has developmental disabilities and needs a kidney transplant. But Kaley has her own plans, too—like leaving Idaho to join her boyfriend, Blake, at the University of Oregon next year, when Zoey will hopefully have a new kidney. Unfortunately, Mom isn’t a match as a donor for Zoey, and she’s desperate to hear whether her ex-husband, the girls’ dad, is. Unable to reach him, Mom suggests they all drive to Oregon to ask him in person. It seems like the perfect opportunity for Kaley to detour and visit Blake. But roadblocks abound, from a freak deer encounter to arguing parents—and when Kaley discovers that Mom’s considering group homes for Zoey, her outrage threatens to wreck everything. Through Kaley’s frank, snarky narration, debut novelist Hobbs sensitively explores a variety of complex issues, including caregiving, divorce, and parental estrangement. The portrayals of the pros and cons of group homes are particularly enlightening. The story’s core, however, is the heartwarming bond between the sisters, who are cued white. While the author doesn’t sugarcoat the stress involved in caring for Zoey, her characterization is refreshingly multifaceted. Alongside her occasionally violent meltdowns readers see her sense of humor and touching acts of compassion that make it clear that she loves Kaley as much as Kaley loves her.
A realistically messy, poignant portrayal of family, disability, and sibling love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9781324124832
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 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
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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