Quippy dialogue and a kinetic pace distinguish this uplifting novel.
Van Ness, a hairstylist known for the TV series Queer Eye, teams up with best-selling author Murphy for this story about one teen’s very gay summer.
Recent high school graduate Sully is ready to leave behind the woes of being a nonbinary fashionista in small-town Hearst, Pennsylvania, and jet off to the Big Apple, where a yearlong internship with an influencer awaits. At their going-away party, they burn some bridges and go out with a bangin’ first kiss. But the flaky influencer drops Sully before they even leave town, and they’re left with no backup plan. Scoring what might be “one of the rarest vintage handbag finds of all time” might help, at least with acquiring the funds to escape. Sully is shocked when a ghost emerges from the bag—Rufus, a gay man, “female impersonator,” and mid-20th-century Hearst resident. While Sully works to pick up the pieces of their own life, they also help Rufus recover his memories, discovering surprising depths to their hometown along the way. This quirky, passionate, rebellious, and quick-witted novel brings aspects of modern queer culture into direct, literal conversation with elements of its past. It’s a monument to what came before, a testament to continued struggles, and a celebration of queer joy. The main characters’ arcs are well-constructed; Sully’s and Rufus’ dual journeys of discovery flow well together, informing Sully’s emotional growth while keeping Rufus independently well-rounded. Characters read white.
Quippy dialogue and a kinetic pace distinguish this uplifting novel. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780063346246
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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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