The Echo Park Castaways

April 15, 2019
Three foster siblings band together to help their newest brother. Nevaeh (who's black), Vic (who's Salvadoran), and Mara (who's Latinx) know the ropes of the foster-care system, and they're in a pretty great situation with their current foster mom, Mrs. K. But their newest arrival, Quentin (who's white), doesn't know that, and with his Asperger's, he finds the new family overwhelming. All he wants is to track down his mother, who is sick with cancer. Vic, who identifies as a kid secret agent, decides that the way to help Quentin is to take him on a quest to find his mom in the hospital (a few towns away), and he's the person for the job. What he doesn't count on is little Mara tagging along and Nevaeh taking it upon herself as the oldest to bring them all home. The narration alternates among three of the four kids (Mara, who speaks Spanish, never gets to tell her side of the story), each with a particular role in the family. The portrayals of Quentin's Asperger's and Vic's ADHD are respectful, but the overall construction of the book is chaotic, with so many quick switches from character to character that readers may be left fatigued or confused. Although Quentin's voice is distinct, Nevaeh's and Vic's are similar enough that readers have to pay particularly close attention. Heartfelt but exhausting. (Fiction. 8-12)

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May 20, 2019
The Los Angeles foster care system makes a striking backdrop for this small-scale adventure with ample heart. The four children who live with overworked Russian widow Mrs. K include 13-year-old high achiever Nevaeh, who is black; Salvadoran Vic, a hyperactive 11-year-old who escapes into superspy fantasies; Quentin, a white kid on the autism spectrum; and Latinx Mara, a younger Spanish-speaking girl. The first three narrate the story, which follows them from gentrifying Echo Park to beach-adjacent Torrance on a quest to find Quentin’s mother; it’s unclear why Hennessey (The Other Boy) leaves Mara’s voice absent, but the omission seems unfair. Nevaeh is the voice of brutal realism: regarding Louis Sachar’s Holes, she observes: “It was nice to get a happy ending for a change, even when it was totally unbelievable.” Hennessey is honest about the realities of deportation and foster care but manages to create a believably gentle conclusion for her characters. And she earns her ending, in which the group moves beyond survival-based existences to looking out for each other and becomes a family in the process. Ages 8–12.

June 1, 2019

Gr 4-7-Three foster siblings come together to help their newest foster brother find his mother in this heartbreaking story. Because their foster mother is too lost in her own grief to parent, eighth-grader Nevaeh cooks, cleans, and grudgingly cares for the younger children. Eleven-year-old Vic, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), lives in his own imaginary world where he is a secret agent sent on elaborate spy missions. Eight-year-old Mara appears quiet and lost and refuses to speak English. This is the home Quentin is dropped into. Quentin has Asperger's syndrome. He rarely speaks, and when he does, it doesn't always make sense to the other children. Crowds and noise make him nervous, causing him to want to hit his head or curl up and rock. While Nevaeh resents having another foster sibling to take care of, Vic fixates on the one thing he understands that Quentin wants-to see his mother, who is in the hospital. Deciding it's a mission only a secret agent can accomplish, Vic sneaks out with Quentin and Mara in tow on a journey to reunite Quentin with his mother. Realizing this could jeopardize everyone's foster placements, Nevaeh sets out to retrieve them. What follows is an adventure that ultimately brings all four children together as true siblings. The story's portrayal of Vic, a child with ADHD who often forgets his medication, feels authentic. The look inside Quentin's thoughts, contrasted with how others perceive him, is an accurate portrayal of a child on the spectrum. The one thing that doesn't make sense is Quentin's entry into the family with no real explanation of his needs or plan to help him acclimate to his surroundings. VERDICT Sweet and sad, but with enough action to keep realistic fiction readers invested until the end.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA

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