A deeply emotional and complex novel that looks at how we define family.
Aaliyah Campbell, a Black 18-year-old from Chicago, has lived with her grandfather ever since her mother left her with him when she was small.
With no memories of her parents and only pictures to go by, Aaliyah feels a void in her heart and desperately desires to meet them. But she faces opposition from Grandpa Joe, who “hates them for reasons” she doesn’t understand, and from Ivy, her cousin, who believes that the past should stay in the past. Despite this, she finds her mother on Facebook and sends her a message. This opens the door to revelations of family secrets and deception even as Aaliyah tries to make sense of what happened among her family members and to find a way to bring everyone together again. At the same time, she struggles with completing 12th grade (she’s dreaming of UCLA) and maintaining her status on the track team (last year she won the state championship). Debut author Johnson provides readers with an in-depth look into living with anxiety: Aaliyah experiences frequent panic attacks and uses various coping methods to deal with them. The book also explores feelings of insecurity and abandonment as Aaliyah faces her complicated emotions about her parents. The story, which unfolds over the second half of Aaliyah’s senior year, is very quickly paced, sustaining readers’ interest, while offering deep characterization.
A deeply emotional and complex novel that looks at how we define family. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781682637753
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 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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