A royal flush of a read for reluctant readers.
“Heads or tails” might seem like an innocent question. But for Essie Tomasi, it's a matter of life and death.
Identical twin geniuses Essie and Aggie are two sides of a coin. Aggie is preppy; Essie likes rocker girl bands and combat boots. Aggie is cheerful and open; Essie keeps her cards close to her chest, quite literally, as she’s struggling to hide a gambling addiction that's growing more destructive by the day. The increasingly severe repercussions of her addiction form the bulk of this story's action. The gambling scenes show Carter in top form, drawing the reader into Essie's lows and highs as she reads the room, stashes cards, and places bets. The adrenaline is almost palpable, and Essie’s first-person narration is redolent of teen sardonicism and desperation. When Essie gets dragged in too deep, finding herself weighing a debt she can't pay against her own moral integrity, the stakes feel appropriately dire. The surrounding plots, including Essie's burgeoning relationship with skater Dillon, her faltering relationship with her sister, and the pain of coming clean to her family, feel less developed. Carter leans unapologetically into teen-novel tropes, leaving the supporting characters feeling somewhat less than three-dimensional. That said, Essie's supportive family members prove to be the true heroes of the story, as they go to extraordinary lengths to help her. The story moves along at a thrilling clip, sure to maintain readers' attention.
A royal flush of a read for reluctant readers. (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2381-5
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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
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