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Summary
Summary
Rosie: Capricorn. Does great in class. Wants nothing more than to get into the prestigious Innovation Technical Institute and kiss this awful school goodbye. Her talisman: a magical jacket from her mother's past that gets people to do whatever she says.
Caro: Leo. Rosie's older sister. Always been closer to their estranged father - and always butted heads more with their strict mother. A trip to Dominican Republic for her father's wedding leads her deep into family history that clears up any illusions about her parents she's ever had. Her talisman: a baseball bat that fixes whatever it breaks.
Zeke: Certified Triple Pisces. Up in cold-ass Jersey City living with his aunt after his grandmother dies and his father moves to London to take care of his mother. He crushes on EVERYone - he knows he'll find happiness in love, and maybe a way out of this depression. His talisman: a manifestation stone that will make anyone fall in love with him.
Rosie, Caro, and Zeke - and their talismans - find themselves intertwined in a magical, hilarious, and whip-smart Outsiders for the modern day, written by Camille Gomera-Tavarez, a 2022 Publishers Weekly Flying Start.
Author Notes
Camille Gomera-Tavarez is an Afro-Dominican writer, designer, and creative from New Jersey. She has a BFA in Graphic Design & Creative Writing from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is currently based in Philadelphia, PA. Her debut short story collection, High Spirits , received critical acclaim and was named a Pura Belpré Honor Book.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Rosie is a Capricorn who works hard to achieve her goal of getting far away from her school. Caro, her older sister, is a Leo who plays life by her own rules and finds herself never on the same page as her mom. Zeke is a Pisces who loves love and is waiting for his opportunity to find it while navigating family issues. In this novel told from alternating viewpoints, Rosie, Caro, and Zeke each acquire talismans that possess unique powers. Rosie owns a magical jacket that makes anyone do whatever she says, Caro a baseball bat that fixes anything it breaks, and Zeke a manifestation stone that will make anyone fall in love with him. What happens when these characters find themselves together? A hilariously great time. In this novel filled with vivid details, wit, and relatable characters, Gomera-Tavarez displays pride in Latinx culture by interlacing plenty of Spanish dialogue that allows authenticity to be the driving force in a YA novel of magical realism. VERDICT A perfect addition to any teen collection.--Marcos Vargas
Publisher's Weekly Review
Three New Jersey teens obtain magical items that will purportedly solve all their problems in this entrancing magical-realism novel by Gomera-Tavarez (High Spirits). Eager to escape her religious mother's strict rules, Dominican American Rosie can't wait to graduate and attend the Innovation Technical Institute. But following a physical altercation between her younger sister Caro and another classmate, who claims that Rosie was also involved, Rosie is kicked out of the Accelerated program, threatening her future pursuits. When she discovers a picture of her mother as a rebellious teen, Rosie--along with Caro and new friend Zeke, a queer Jamaican American who's managing depression following his intolerant mother's death--tracks down the sisters' magic-practicing aunt. Rosie soon procures a jacket that grants her mind control powers; Zeke receives a set of rings that allow him to choose his soulmate; and Caro finds an enchanted baseball bat that fixes anything it breaks. Initially, the teens enjoy the gifts, until they realize the danger the items also wield. Via the three teens' personable alternating perspectives, Gomera-Tavarez crafts a spell-binding tale that delves into Latin American culture, intergenerational trauma, and sexuality. Ages 12--up. (Feb.)
Kirkus Review
Gomera-Tavarez's sophomore novel brings three New Jersey teens together with talismans that are seemingly tailor-made for their struggles. Dominican Caro seeks to escape from Mami's constant critiques by defying her standards at nearly every turn, while her younger sister, Rosie, seeks an out through academic success. When Zeke, the new Jamaican kid from Miami, tags along on the sisters' covert trip to Queens, he finds his own outlet through their burgeoning friendship. The first-person narrative shifts among all three protagonists, highlighting each one's perspective on shared events, their particular struggles, and the discovery of their magical powers through the enchanted objects they find--a jacket, a baseball bat, and a pink stone. Rosie wrestles with her sense of justice and expectations of meritocracy as her dream of transferring to elite Innovation Technical Institute is stolen. Caro seeks to reform her rebellious ways but struggles with finding her own identity rather than one rooted in opposition to her mom. Though Zeke seems the most sure of who he his, his queer identity, and his ethos of living in the moment, he too struggles with a complicated maternal relationship, grieving the mom he felt never truly knew him. Though a coming-of-age quest for identity is at the heart of the unfolding drama, family challenges, generational trauma, and critiques of carceral systems and the underfunding of public schools are woven throughout, adding deep subplots leading up toward the ultimate climax. An original voice spins an urban, magically realistic, modern tale. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When sisters Caro and Rosie, along with the new boy, Zeke, come to possess three magical items, they suddenly have the power to make their lives so much easier. Caro's baseball bat can fix anything it breaks, Rosie's jacket gives her the ability to make anyone do anything, and Zeke's stone has anyone who wears it falling for him. But the talismans may be more trouble than they originally seem and eventually lead to new understandings of themselves and their relationships with family and friends in Gomera-Tavarez's (High Spirits, 2022) latest. This starts off with a voicey bang, beginning with a chapter from Rosie's perspective in a novel that hops around among different points of view. The prose throughout remains highly descriptive and vibrant, leading the reader along a fast-paced adventure of self-discovery amid revelations about shocking family secrets and magic. While main characters Caro, Rosie, and Zeke showcase thoughtful character development, so, too, do secondary characters to a dazzling, well-rounded effect. Although this enjoys the tropes of a typical high-school dramedy, like a house party and romantic follies, it is one of a kind and likely to be popular with reluctant readers who can look past the hefty page count and give the beginning a try.
