Devastating and luminous.
A teen finds art, love, and resistance amid loss and despair.
Jihad Dabbagh, a Syrian American Muslim teen living in Queens, comes from a legacy of women known for “blessings that brush the line between reality and magic.” Jihad perceives the emotions emanating from the colors of people, plants, and objects, but after her mother’s death from cancer, she’s trapped in emotional stasis with her father, unable to grieve and seeing everything in gray. Jihad’s dreams of escaping to San Francisco to attend the Opus School of Art are the only thing keeping her afloat. But Baba, hoping to give her a better shot at NYU, enrolls her in an elite private school for her senior year. There, Jihad faces Islamophobia, microaggressions, and even outright violence, all while shrinking and trying to make herself “palatable.” Jamie Murphy, who’s white and Vietnamese, becomes a source of consistent kindness; his quiet empathy and understanding of Islam set him apart. When Jihad uncovers a sketchbook hidden in her mother’s vanity, she begins drawing again. Her drawings appear in the real world as murals, drawing public attention, and color slowly returns, even as she wrestles with the guilt of moving on. Jihad’s self-erasure and gradual reclamation of her confidence resonate deeply, and Katouh renders the bullying she endures with honesty. The portrayals of Syrian American identity, Muslim faith, and diaspora experiences are authentic and lyrical, and Jihad and Jamie’s relationship, rooted in shared longing and cultural questioning, is tender and well-paced.
Devastating and luminous. (Fabulism. 14-18)Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: 9780316351942
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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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