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. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. 13 & up)Ī Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart. A selection of horror tropes-from spooky dolls to small-town secrets-fails to come to life, and the final healing of rifts in the girls’ family seems contrived. The plotting, however, is less effective. Despite their realistic shortcomings, both primary and secondary characters are unique and satisfyingly complex. Strong characterization will draw readers in. Worried that her sibling is going mad, Alexis is moved to accept the help of two unlikely candidates-an unflappable cutie who continues his pursuit of her despite her initial rebuff and a cheerleader who has recognized that Kasey’s oddness is not mental illness, but a case of supernatural possession. Her parents are so self-absorbed they haven’t noticed that their younger daughter, Kasey, is exhibiting increasingly bizarre behavior, including an obsession with dolls that has alienated her peers. Pink-haired high-school misfit Alexis has built up a shield of disdain to the point that she is essentially friendless. A nasty ghost, a photography-savvy teen and her stressed, uncommunicative family form the backbone of this all-too-predictable, though at times engaging, mystery.
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