A thoughtful meditation on being a young, white, queer person today.
Teenage cousins Talia and Mark confront family drama and relationship struggles when they end up on an unplanned road trip to Toronto Pride.
Mark and Talia haven’t seen each other since they were about 10, but when their grandfather dies unexpectedly, they end up spending a week together in their family’s summer cottage in Muskoka, Ontario. Talia is preoccupied with her rocky romance with Erin, who is nonbinary, while Mark just wants to meet cute guys and ignore the boyfriend he is stringing along back home. The flimsy plot is secondary to the growth of Talia and Mark, who are both presumed white and identify as queer and gay, respectively. They seem caught between a queer history that they don’t quite understand (what does it mean to be a butch, anyway?) and a queer future that they are trying to create (is the taboo against outing still relevant if being queer is no big deal?). Ultimately, this story captures a coming-of-age moment in two young people’s lives as they begin to figure out where they fit in the world. Mark confronts his entitlement while Talia begins to form her own identity independent of her partner and family. This book is packed full of teaching moments, and while some feel tedious, others perfectly capture the frustration of, for example, explaining “they/them” pronouns yet again.
A thoughtful meditation on being a young, white, queer person today. (acknowledgements) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7624-9500-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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