A gorgeous portrait of two people learning to love themselves before they can truly love each other.
Distance and personal growth challenge Neil and Rowan’s once-perfect romance in this follow-up to 2020’s Today Tonight Tomorrow.
After a whirlwind summer together, Jewish teens Neil McNair and Rowan Roth leave Seattle for different East Coast colleges. Neil reassures Rowan that the distance won’t change anything, but Rowan worries he’s wrong. At Emerson College in Boston, Rowan’s creative writing class gets off to a shaky start and quickly becomes a near-constant source of anxiety; has she forgotten how to write romance, or is it that she’s never written while in love? Neil feels out of sorts at NYU, where he discovers a surprising lack of interest in linguistics, his major. A letter from his imprisoned father sends him spiraling, but he chooses not to tell Rowan about it, not wanting to burden her. In turn, she doesn’t admit her reservations that their relationship may be harming her ability to write. It isn’t long before they’re forced to take stock of all the changes they’re facing and decide if they want to take time apart. The characterization is strong: Neil’s struggles with mental health resonate deeply, and Rowan’s insecurities ring true. What happens after happily-ever-after isn’t perfect—but for these two, it’s always achingly real. Solomon digs deeply into elements she introduced in the earlier novel; readers should be familiar with the first book to fully appreciate this one.
A gorgeous portrait of two people learning to love themselves before they can truly love each other. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781665901956
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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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