A melodramatic potboiler.
Two teenage volunteer firefighters seek to find their own meanings of love and family, all while battling a rogue arsonist.
After ending up in the foster-care system, Amanda Jamison has finally found a good home with the Becketts. They’re kind and feed her well, although they have a lot of rules—including a strict “no boys” mandate. Mr. Beckett insists she join the volunteer firefighters, and there she meets gawky, bookish Reece Logan. Reece is a legacy in the company; his father is a chief, and his brother was a revered cadet. When his brother died, though, relations all but froze between him and his father. When he joins the squad, the tension reaches a fever pitch, although all the other cadets—especially Amanda—help him acclimate. As the cadets forge their own bonds, the entire firehouse is threatened when an arsonist begins to set their town ablaze, putting Reece and Amanda in imminent danger. The drama runs high, with tenuous threads—from ill-fated romance to familial drama to a nearly transparent mystery—that never quite seem to weave together into a cohesive story. The characters' emotions often feel contrived and rushed; Reece and Amanda fall instantly in love, declaring their affections before they ever go on a proper date. The highly inflated action and syrupy characters together create a heavily stilted, mawkish, and often highly unbelievable read.
A melodramatic potboiler. (Fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4926-1329-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod.
Can a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms?
Cass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing “The Sims” so much her parents had to take the game away. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. To be fair, her grades are suffering. And sure, maybe she’s missed a college application deadline. Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great—but she still can’t help comparing her to Rowan, Cass’ online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But Rowan doesn’t want to be a dirty little secret and doesn’t see why Cass can’t be honest about this part of her life. The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass’ estranged mother, narratively unearned.
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-324332-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story.
Is an exuberant extended family the cure for a breakup? Sophie is about to find out.
When Sophie unexpectedly breaks up with her boyfriend, she isn’t thrilled about spending the holidays at her grandparents’ house instead of with him. And when her grandmother forms a plan to distract Sophie from her broken heart—10 blind dates, each set up by different family members—she’s even less thrilled. Everyone gets involved with the matchmaking, even forming a betting pool on the success of each date. But will Sophie really find someone to fill the space left by her ex? Will her ex get wind of Sophie’s dating spree via social media and want them to get back together? Is that what she even wants anymore? This is a fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family. The pace is quick and light, though the characters are fairly shallow and occasionally feel interchangeable, especially with so many names involved. A Christmas tale, the plot is a fast-paced series of dinners, parties, and games, relayed in both narrative form and via texts, though the humor occasionally feels stiff and overwrought. The ending is satisfying, though largely unsurprising. Most characters default to white as members of Sophie’s Italian American extended family, although one of her cousins has a Filipina mother. One uncle is gay.
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02749-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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