Heartbreakingly well executed.
Grief, severe anxiety, and an abundance of negative self-talk make for a narrator who is at odds with herself—and who’s missing a lot of what’s going on around her.
Sixteen-year-old painter Ebony Jones couldn’t bring herself to complete a self-portrait assignment at her old school before her parents uprooted her whole life and moved her to Alula Lake, a historically Black seaside town in Texas where she spent summers as a child. She hasn’t been back since her grandmother Gigi’s passing. Now, she’s struggling with the ways she sees herself, both as an artist and as a person, the begrudged change in scenery, the loss of her friend group, and constant reminders of Gigi, all of which exacerbate her issues, leading to Ebony’s quickly spiraling into self-destructive habits even as her parents and a childhood best friend try hard to reach her. Brief passages from the perspective of an omniscient narrator interspersed between Ebony’s first-person chapters give readers necessary insights into things Ebony’s unable to notice or deeply unwilling to accept. Without this awareness, she can’t help but tank her relationships and find herself in embarrassing and dangerous situations. It’s the alternative perspective that clues the reader in to the long journey ahead, as even the closing honesty and reconciliations will not resolve some of her deeper issues. She is a protagonist who is simultaneously deeply frustrating and relatable, and by the end she’s at least able to paint herself more clearly.
Heartbreakingly well executed. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063093287
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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
A delightfully autumnal small-town romance buoyed by strong characterization.
Ellis Mitchell has her whole life planned out.
Heading into senior year, Ellis plans to study hard and crush it at the journalism internship her media executive dad got her, paving the way for her acceptance to Columbia University. But then Ellis’ parents announce they’re separating—and that Ellis and her mom will be heading to Bramble Falls to stay with her aunt and cousin. Furious that her careful plans have been upended, Ellis struggles to settle into the small, charming Connecticut town even as everyone around her gears up for the annual Falling Leaves Festival. Ellis runs into Cooper Barnett—her long-ago summer friend from visits to Aunt Naomi and cousin Sloane—who’s grown up to be very handsome. But Cooper isn’t pleased to see Ellis; he’s cold and curt, and she has no idea why. Wilson’s YA debut is chock-full of charm. Readers will swoon at Cooper’s and Ellis’ developing feelings following their frosty reunion and sympathize with Ellis’ difficulties even as Bramble Falls grows on her. She must choose between small-town community ties and big-city ambitions—between what her dad wants for her and what she really wants. Ellis’ relationships with her mom, aunt, and cousin are lovely and aspirational. The depiction of Bramble Falls is evocative, and the book contains enough seasonal delights to satisfy even the most devoted pumpkin spice latte lover. Main characters are cued white.
A delightfully autumnal small-town romance buoyed by strong characterization. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665975209
Page Count: 352
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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