An uneven story featuring welcome representation and a lackluster mystery.
Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman were born to be rivals.
Their mothers both aimed for a New Year’s Day birth, but only Cleo managed it—Sadie was born two minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve. At school, they’re rivals for valedictorian, and Cleo is known for playing pranks on Sadie. But Cleo has a secret crush on Sadie, and her feelings make her feel too awkward to break their volatile cycle. After some incidents—slashed tires and locker graffiti—the principal decides that things have gone too far, and despite their protestations of innocence, he tells them that if there are further disruptions, he’ll inform the colleges they’ve applied to. The girls begin investigating who might be framing them—and, in the process, start genuinely connecting. This rom-com with an enemies-to-lovers arc quickly pulls readers in and keeps them guessing, although the solution to the mystery feels unsatisfying. Both white girls proudly identify as fat lesbians. Jewish Sadie lives with depression while searching for medication without unwelcome side effects; Christian Cleo has chronic pain as the result of an accident made worse by her hypermobile joints. Despite these distinctions, their voices can be hard to differentiate, and readers might lose track of whose turn it is in the dual narration. The kitschy tourist traps of St. Augustine, Florida, offer an amusing backdrop to the story.
An uneven story featuring welcome representation and a lackluster mystery. (note for readers, author’s note, mental health resources) (Mystery/romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781547613939
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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
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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