“Did you know that if it wasn’t for the periodic sweep of fire, our forests wouldn’t be able to thrive?” a minor character asks Teresa, the teenage narrator of this realistic novel, whose house has recently burned down. Teresa finds to her surprise that, like a forest fire, the house fire changes her life—in some ways for the better. Living in a highly dysfunctional family and practically invisible in school when the story opens, Teresa longs to be beautiful and popular. Only Wesley, a high-achieving fellow student assigned to a science project with her, even notices Teresa. Although her sights are set on a handsomer boy, Wesley grows on her as they work together, and a romance develops. At home, Teresa’s unreliable mother, known as the most beautiful woman in their small town, latches onto a new boyfriend, potentially husband number four. Teresa’s family role is to bolster her mother’s ego and ease her conscience about neglecting her three children, while Teresa’s older sister rebels and criticizes the mother she increasingly resembles. The fire sends the family into disarray and by the end, they are largely scattered to different places. At the same time, Teresa lets down her guard at school when other kids show an interest in the tragedy. Despite the formulaic plot of “tragedy transforms teenager” and occasional awkward sentences, this first novel engages the reader with strong storytelling, genuine adolescent emotions, and realistic dialogue especially within Teresa’s family. The conclusion is only partly hopeful, but then, so is life for many teenagers. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: June 11, 2002
ISBN: 0-385-72978-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
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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