Thrilling. Positively thrilling.
Queer teens get their James Bond moment—and then some.
After his latest foster mom betrays him, sophomore Nicolas Hall winds up in a conversion therapy prison in California called the Institute. As inmate Number Seventy, Nico narrowly (but cleverly) escapes, promising to come back and save his friend Bec. Meanwhile, in Manhattan, James Bond–obsessed Samuel Solomon gets dumped by his boyfriend. Since “007 got his heart broken once too,” Sam tries to be “Bond-tough.” But it’s harder than it looks, and Sam’s therapist encourages him to focus on One Good Thing. Fate eventually brings Nico and Sam together in Mexico at a resort—though both of them are using aliases. Their romance is swift and sweet, until it all comes crashing down. The two boys get separated, but not before Sam learns the truth about Nico’s situation. As the police close in, can the would-be boyfriends bring down the Institute for good even when they’re miles apart? Wind’s latest effectively channels the Bond canon while reflecting the flaws of its poster boy’s toxic masculinity. The alternating third-person narration keeps the pace moving while also building anticipation of the boys’ first meeting. As the teens overcome each obstacle with almost debonair ease, this roller-coaster ride to a happy ending feels like wish fulfillment. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to see queer kids saving each other—and finding love. The main cast reads white.
Thrilling. Positively thrilling. (list of aliases, author’s note) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781641609500
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Duet
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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