An engaging, plot-driven debut with a heart.
A bullied teen trying to escape her reputation becomes embroiled in a mystery when she takes a summer job at a theme park.
Smart, determined 16-year-old Greta, whose sarcastic narrative voice sets a tone of grim humor, sees her new position as an usher at Hyper Kid Magic Land’s 4D theater as a chance to make new friends after enduring a sexist, victim-blaming ordeal surrounding a topless photo she sent to a crush at school. Hyper Kid is its own social microcosm, and Greta is quickly swept up in it. She’s working alongside pretty boy performer Gray, fellow usher Ivy (who takes Greta under her wing, protecting her from the snobby actors and the obnoxious classmates who inevitably come to the park), and technician Liam (who takes a shine to her). Liam and Greta’s sweet, supportive, idealized romance blooms naturally as the story moves along. There’s also a darker side to the park—Greta becomes fascinated by the unsolved mystery of Hailey, an employee who was murdered there years ago. When Mercy, one of the actors, inexplicably stops showing up for work, and then another member of staff turns up dead, Greta’s terrierlike worry about Mercy’s fate draws her and her peers further into the park’s bloody history. Several central characters, including Greta, are cued white; Ivy is Colombian American, and Liam is Filipino, Mexican, and white.
An engaging, plot-driven debut with a heart. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593903988
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
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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