Alma Presses Play

by Tina Cane

Overview

A lyrical novel-in-verse that takes us through the journey of coming of age in New York during the 80s.

Alma's life is a series of halfways: She's half-Chinese, half-Jewish; her parents spend half the time fighting, and the other half silent; and she's halfway through becoming a woman. But as long as she can listen to her Walkman, hang out with her friends on the stoops of the Village, and ride her bike around the streets of New York, it feels like everything will be all right. Then comes the year when everything changes, and her life is overtaken by constant endings: friends move away, romances bloom and wither, her parents divorce and—just like that—her life as she knew it is over. In this world of confusing beginnings, middles, and endings, is Alma ready to press play on the soundtrack of her life?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593121146
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tina Cane grew up in downtown New York City during the 70s and 80s, surrounded by artists and writers and musicians, and she draws much of her creative inspiration from that era. The founder/ director of Writers-in-the-Schools, RI, Tina also currently serves as the poet laureate of Rhode Island where she lives with her husband and three children, who are also a major source of inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

2021-06-24
1982 is a year of change for 13-year-old New Yorker Alma Rosen.

Her parents seem destined for divorce, and her friend group is changing. Her body and mind are changing too; she gets her period and her first kiss. Alma’s also starting to notice the inequitable treatment of women in her community and in literature. By leaning into her love of music and creating her own brand of resilience, she learns that while change is constant, she can decide how she responds to it. Unpunctuated poems in a stream-of-consciousness style make up the bulk of this verse novel. Some poems start with a word and its definition, some with song lyrics, and others take the form of lists or letters. Books, movies, music, and TV shows, as well as historical details of the time period and Greek mythology, are common touch points. It can be challenging to grasp all of these threads while also following the narrative arc. However, the poems that focus on a small moment or idea stand out for their captivating emotional complexity. Alma identifies as half Chinese and half White; her life is influenced by her Jewish paternal grandmother and her Chinese maternal grandparents. Although the backgrounds of Alma’s latchkey kid friend group are described with specific racial and cultural markers, socio-economic situations, and family dynamics, at times their voices lack distinction.

A coming-of-age story for readers who appreciate a strong sense of place. (Verse novel. 12-14)

Kirkus Reviews