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Arcos, Carrie
4 Reviews
(3)
YA
Teenage photographer Zara has a strained relationship with her mother, Nadja, a refugee from the Bosnian War. Zara doesn't understand her mother's trauma until a bombing at a Rhode Island farmer's market leaves Zara badly injured and traumatized and her mother in a coma. This deeply sad and affecting mother-daughter story shifts between Nadja's 1990s experiences and Zara's present-day path to healing and understanding. Bib., glos.
Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello
(3)
YA
Perhaps unsurprisingly given his namesake, Neruda Diaz is in love with love, aspiring to the kind of enduring romance he believes his parents share. As Neruda discovers in several ways, however, real love is both more complicated and more inscrutable than he had imagined. Featuring a realistically diverse set of characters and a thoughtful protagonist, this absorbing romance also offers plenty of reflection on art and creativity.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
YA
"It's like being an amputee with a missing arm, reaching out to scratch an itch...Grace is my phantom limb." Filipino American Mark tries to cope with senior year at his high school for the arts, but he is still reeling from the death of his twin sister in a car accident that he survived. A forthright and sometimes brooding meditation on grief, support, and how to go on.
Reviewer: Rebecca Hachmyer
(4)
YA
Almost-seventeen-year-old Rachel travels to San Diego to search for her missing brother, a meth addict; as the day unfolds, she confronts the dangers and destructiveness of drug abuse. The glacial pace allows for compelling flashbacks; detailed descriptions; and musings on relationships, family, choice, God, etc., but may challenge readers to stay engaged. The anti-drug message is delivered with a rather heavy hand.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
4 reviews
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