Fun pop cultural references can’t make up for a lack of plot.
Two boys fall in love in Riddle’s YA novella.
It’s 1958, and 17-year-old Billy Sanders is obsessed with James Dean. (“Not only did I try to act like him, I dressed like him and cut my hair like him, too.”) The students at Hollywood High School nickname him “James,” and even the teachers tell him they see a resemblance. One day, Billy—a self-proclaimed “peeper” in the boys’ locker room—gets an intimate view of 17-year-old Jason Blue, who happens to look exactly like Elvis. The two converse, and Jason admits he’s been noticing Billy for a few weeks. Jason asks Billy on a date to a lookout point, where the two kiss and then dive headlong into a fast-moving relationship. (Billy brings Jason home to meet his parents the next night; Jason brings Billy home during the week.) They go dancing at a gay club on Halloween and Jason introduces Billy to some of his friends (who, conveniently, happen to resemble Paul Newman, Montgomery Clift, Kirk Douglas, and Ricky Nelson). And then they just sort of…hang out. This is the story’s main problem: Nothing actually happens. The narration resembles entries in a teenager’s diary, offering an abundance of references to popular music and actors of the 1950s. The brief nature of many of the scenes (some of which summarize entire months in just a few sentences) results in a lack of depth; there are no real stakes, and none of the characters display much personality. At one point, a hint of engaging drama—in the form of a fellow student threatening to tell everyone about the boys’ relationship—seems to emerge, but it’s dropped immediately and never surfaces again.
Fun pop cultural references can’t make up for a lack of plot.Pub Date: March 3, 2021
ISBN: 9798713897895
Page Count: 62
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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