A uniquely dazzling setting undermined by muddled worldbuilding.
A young tailor and a mysteriously familiar time savant must save time travelers from a terrible fate in this queer fantasy romance.
Calisto lives in the town of Pocket, a place that’s outside of time—it’s the waystation time travelers must pass through on their journeys to other whens. There they work as a tailor, creating beautifully detailed and accurate costumes for the travelers. Calisto never plans to travel through time themself—until Fawkes arrives. A time savant, Fawkes has been traveling through time since he was a child, slipping easily from one time to another without having to pass through Pocket. His talents also mean he catches glimpses of the future—and he’s seen Calisto before. But close behind Fawkes are the Time Wardens, who want time to be strictly regulated, which means getting rid of travelers. Together, Calisto and Fawkes will have to master their temporal abilities to stop the Time Wardens and save Pocket—and along the way, they fall in love. The rich and beautifully drawn world that readers will want to lose themselves in is unfortunately let down by a plot that collapses in on itself under the weight of explanations of time travel and its aftereffects that get progressively more convoluted and confusing. An introductory note indicates that the book has been translated from Seam, the language used in Pocket, which uses “natural measures of time: sunlight, seasons, stars.” The main characters present white.
A uniquely dazzling setting undermined by muddled worldbuilding. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781536233711
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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