Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Best Teen Books of 2012: Romance

Swoon-tastic love stories--and some not-quite-romances, too.


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Cover art for LOVE AND OTHER PERISHABLE ITEMS
CHILDREN'S
Released: Dec. 11, 2012

"The exactly right conclusion eschews easy resolution, though there's plenty of hope as they flounder into the future. (Fiction. 14 & up)"
A sweet and scathingly funny love story (kinda) from Australia. Read full book review >
Cover art for REACHED
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 13, 2012

"With reveals seeming to arrive on almost every page, prepare to stay up all night. (author's note referencing poems and paintings) (Science fiction/romance. 13 & up)"
While staying true to the science fiction and romance at the core of Matched (2010) and Crossed (2011), the trilogy's breathless finale blossoms into a medical thriller too, adding breadth and resonance. Read full book review >
Cover art for PASSION BLUE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 6, 2012

"A rare, rewarding, sumptuous exploration of artistic passion. (author's note) (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)"
Giulia is bright, curious and a gifted artist, born to a noble father and his humble mistress in 15th-century Renaissance Italy. Now her fate rests with her father's widow, who's sending Giulia to a Padua convent. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE CRIMSON CROWN
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 23, 2012

"Simply brilliant. (Fantasy. 12 & up)"
Torture and treasure, treason and trust, and the triumph of true love: All come to fruition in the stirring conclusion to this epic fantasy series. Read full book review >
Cover art for HAVE A NICE DAY
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 16, 2012

"Aside from the too-anxious-to-eat valorization, fresh as a daisy and sharp as a tack. (Fiction. 12-17)"
Biting wit makes this quest for suburban normalcy in the face of depression and anxiety both laugh-out-loud funny and immensely intelligent. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE FITZOSBORNES AT WAR
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 9, 2012

"Absorbing, compelling and unforgettable. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 12 & up)"
War has been declared, and the young, royal, exiled FitzOsbornes are immediately in the thick of things as Cooper's Montmaray Journals trilogy comes to its conclusion. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE ASSASSIN'S CURSE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 2, 2012

"A ripsnorting series opener; may the sequels arrive soon. (Fantasy. 13 & up)"
A kick-ass pirate heroine gets into and out of (mostly into) trouble in this invigorating fantasy. Read full book review >
Cover art for WRAPPED UP IN YOU
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2012
by Dan Jolley, illustrated by Natalie Nourigat

"True to this series' winning formula, an enjoyable mix of terror, comedy and romance. (Graphic paranormal romance. 12-14)"
When a weird midnight rite in a museum brings a hunky Incan mummy back to life, teenage Staci has a decision to make. Read full book review >
Cover art for SHADOWFELL
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 11, 2012

"Proper fantasy, balanced between epic and personal; this promises to be an engrossing series, with intimations of bigger things ahead. (Historical fantasy. 13 & up)"
In an alternate ancient British Isles, an intrepid heroine may save the kingdom from its wicked ruler. Read full book review >
Cover art for EVERY DAY
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 28, 2012

"An awe-inspiring, thought-provoking reminder that love reaches beyond physical appearances or gender. (Fiction. 14 & up)"
Imagine waking up in a different body every day. Read full book review >
Cover art for BETWEEN YOU & ME
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 7, 2012

"Though hamstrung by a depressingly chick-lit-y cover, this total-immersion emotional experience is one readers will both recognize and thoroughly enjoy. (Fiction. 12 & up)"
A girl in love with the theater tells the story of her first great love in the form of a script. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE GIRL WITH BORROWED WINGS
CHILDREN'S
Released: July 19, 2012

"Infused with an urgent hope, this glimmering love story exhilarates and refreshes. (Magical realism. 12 & up)"
Her name--Frenenqer--means "restraint" in "some language or other," and she is the only child--creation, really--of a man for whom affection is unspeakable: Pfft. Read full book review >
Cover art for A WORLD AWAY
CHILDREN'S
Released: July 17, 2012

"Simply lovely. (Fiction. 12 & up)"
This sensitive debut grabs hearts right away and doesn't let go. Read full book review >
Cover art for BURN MARK
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 19, 2012

"This smart, stylish series opener raises the bar for paranormal fiction, leaving readers impatient for the next installment. (author's note) (Urban fantasy. 12 & up)"
Crime noir meets paranormal romance in this addictive thriller about two London teens in whom the fae awakens, conferring abilities at once exhilarating and harshly stigmatized. Read full book review >
Cover art for KEEPING THE CASTLE
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 14, 2012

"While the happy ending comes as no surprise, the path to it is funny as well as satisfying, with many nods to Jane Austen along the way. (Fiction. 13 & up)"
A romp of a Regency romance told through the discerning voice of a witty teenage beauty whose family needs her to marry for money. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE GIRL IN THE CLOCKWORK COLLAR
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2012

"Surprising, vivid and cohesive--the work of a pro. (Steampunk. 13 & up)"
A steampunk adventure in which an omniscient narrator delves into multiple heads and a quartet of friends take lurid risks to save their fifth counterpart. Read full book review >
Cover art for ENCHANTED
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 8, 2012

"Absolutely delectable; if it has more fripperies and furbelows than are strictly speaking necessary, it makes up for that in the wizardly grace of its storytelling. (Fantasy. 12-18)"
Readers who get past the generic title and an off-puttingly generic cover will discover a fabulous fairy-tale mashup that deserves hordes of avid readers. Read full book review >
Cover art for A BREATH OF EYRE
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2012

"A smart and rewarding ode to literature. (Fantasy. 12 & up)"
This richly satisfying tale of first and last love transcends its genre--not another breathless, fan-fiction take on a literary classic but an intertextual love letter. Read full book review >
Cover art for STREET DREAMS
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 13, 2012

"No simple coming-out story, this many-layered effort is gritty, warm and ultimately hopeful. (Fiction. 14 & up)"
Compassionate, thoughtful and expressive, this New Zealand import traces a Maori teen's journey through friendships, family, work and the realization that he is gay. Read full book review >
Cover art for PANDEMONIUM
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 6, 2012

"From the grief-stricken shell of her former self to a nascent refugee and finally to a full-fledged resistance fighter, Lena's strength and the complexity of her internal struggles will keep readers up at night. (Dystopian romance. 14 & up)"
It's been six months since readers first met 17-year-old Lena Haloway, desperately in love in a world that considers such feelings an infection to be permanently and irrevocably "cured." Read full book review >
Cover art for THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND ME
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2012

"While in the end there are some plotlines left untied in slice-of-life fashion, the bittersweet resolution of the main conflict is deeply satisfying. (Fiction. 13 & up)"
A novel with alternating narrators takes an unusually interesting twist due to one of the character's habitual tendency toward self-delusion. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 10, 2012

"Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus' poignant journey. (Fiction. 15 & up)"
He's in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs. She's fighting the brown fluid in her lungs caused by tumors. Both know that their time is limited. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 2, 2012

"Yes, many teens face more compelling problems than those of a smart, attractive daughter of affluent and loving, if estranged, parents; but Smith's acute insights make Hadley's heartache and loss as real as the magical unfurling of new love. (Fiction. 12 & up)"
A smartly observed novel rises above its apparently easy structure. Read full book review >
Cover art for GIRL MEETS BOY
CHILDREN'S
Released: Jan. 1, 2012

"A superb offering--and therefore a shame that its cover design of a boy and girl in a clinch makes it look like a run-of-the mill romance, which may limit its appeal. (Short stories. 14 & up)"
This conceptually unique collection of short story pairings by a constellation of teen-literature stars explores a variety of relationship types as the respective male and female involved in each one experience them. Read full book review >