Fans of funky unconventional fantasy will lap it up and roar for more.
Life was bad enough for Canadian teen Ricky Fallon; who knew death came with pink spandex?
Fallon actually planned to off himself. He was on the Pape Street Bridge ready to jump because his girl dumped him, his dad was a prick and his “best friend” Susan was the most clingy, depressing person on the planet. He changed his mind…and slipped. Fallon wakes to find Bud, a Soul Reaper, ready to take him to—his new job. Souls with Karma to work out become Cupids, genital-free, Love-eating spirits who exist to increase the supply of Love in the world by getting the living to couple-up. Fallon’s new boss Louis is a huge jerk. Bad enough that he’s got to suffer that (and the heart-emblazoned spandex), but, with little training, Fallon also has to avoid Suicides, the dangerous, misery-eating antitheses of Cupids. When he finds Susan has attached herself to a new unfortunate, Fallon suspects there’s something more than meets the eye to that downer-girl. Can he save her new target (and maybe the world)? Carter’s newest is a darkly humorous, fantastical frolic. Fallon’s snark is tempered by his conflicted feelings about his runaway mother. Other characters aren’t as well-rounded, but the unique afterlife and a surprisingly spiritual twist will keep pages turning.
Fans of funky unconventional fantasy will lap it up and roar for more. (Humorous fantasy. 12 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7387-2614-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
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
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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