This first in a planned trilogy isn’t for the faint of heart, but readers with strong stomachs will find themselves swept up.
Brooklyn is the perfect setting for this dark, gritty thriller with heavy religious overtones and breathtaking violence.
The story of three teenagers—a suicidal Catholic schoolgirl, a narcissistic socialite and a beautiful, street-smart musician—who find themselves thrown together by fate and forced into an epic battle against evil, it is just as likely to thrill some as it is to offend others. After a clever opening in which readers are introduced to Agnes, Cecilia and Lucy, who are in varying states of distress in the hospital emergency room, Hurley initially spends too much time focusing on the girls independently and too little time exploring their implied connection. While each of the characters is compelling in her own right (particularly the beautifully crafted Cecelia), it’s when their lives and destinies finally intersect that the story really takes off. Their struggles become far more compelling when Agnes, Cecilia and Lucy discover that they are the living avatars of three saints, each martyred when she was exceptionally young and after horrific suffering. Indeed, this creates a unique and powerful bond that emboldens them as they are thrust into a battle for their souls. Readers can rest assured that while these young women may be saints, they are definitely not angels.
This first in a planned trilogy isn’t for the faint of heart, but readers with strong stomachs will find themselves swept up. (Paranormal thriller. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2951-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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
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
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