Inflated histrionics that are about as appealing as the navel-gazing that punctuates them.
Major melodrama ensues when Willa returns to her childhood home after an absence of six years to live with her nonna, cook and housekeeper for the wealthy Lawtons, and reconnects with childhood friends.
Living in a small cottage on their estate, Willa spent her childhood here, inseparable with the second son, Gunner Lawton, and his best friend, Brady Higgens. Now seniors, the three revive their friendship in what appears to be a love triangle. Gunner’s distant relationship with his unloving parents and Willa’s abandonment by her own mother draws them close, as revealed in ponderously voiced first-person chapters that alternate among the three beautiful, white teens. While away, Willa did something she regrets that resulted in a short stint in a correctional center, and this secret flavors the beginning of what turns out to be a chain of revelations of dark secrets that surround the Lawtons. Though rife with swearing, including the liberal use of F-bombs, and references to sex, the actual events on the page are relatively tame. Furthermore, although explosive secrets that will prove powerful and damaging emerge, the way it all plays out is not particularly heart-wrenching. Willa is a good Southern girl who says “Yes, ma’am,” and all her actions are pure in motivation. Several plot threads dangle toward the end, but those who like soap operas won’t notice or care.
Inflated histrionics that are about as appealing as the navel-gazing that punctuates them. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3889-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A solid urban fantasy with a novel premise.
Seasons are meant to hunt and destroy each other, but what happens when two Seasons fall in love?
Jack is a Winter. With the help of his Handler, he hunts down the Autumn who comes before him, kills her, and runs from the Spring who comes next—until she kills him in turn. This cycle maintains the seasons and the weather, which is why Seasons are regulated: kept to their own territories when out in the world and to their own sections of the compound they call home. But since the beginning, Jack has sought out gaps in the system, which may be why he finds himself drawn to Fleur, the Spring tasked with killing him. Monitored both by technology and the magical creatures controlled by Chronos and Gaia—the beings responsible for the Seasons—as well as watched over by their own skeptical Handlers, Jack and Fleur nevertheless take a risk that could destroy the delicate balance in their lives and in the world. Melding high-tech bunkers in London and secretive road trips across the U.S. with mythology and magic, Cosimano tells a story of the bonds of friendship and the power of hope for the future. Though the large cast is sometimes cumbersome, the themes of friendship despite differences and self-sacrifice nevertheless shine through. Jack and Fleur seem to be white while a secondary character is cued as Latinx.
A solid urban fantasy with a novel premise. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-285424-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A well-crafted slow-burn romance with plenty of depth.
An agender 16-year-old from the Bay Area is torn between love and their Cupid duties.
Jude recently made the biggest mistake of their Cupid career: They fell in love with a human boy. Worse, they kissed him. Broken-hearted Jude, who is white and trans, was placed on probation, and they are determined not to make the same mistake twice: Kiss a human again, and they’ll lose their powers and their memories of ever having been a Cupid. When Jude’s latest assignment goes off the rails, senior Cupids consider imposing more consequences but instead give them a challenging test as a second chance. Their assignment: restore the broken relationship between a girl named Alice Tran and a trans boy called Huy Trinh, who are both Vietnamese American. Posing as regular high school student Jude Ricci, befriending the pair, and then engineering a reconciliation should be child’s play. At first, everything seems to be going smoothly, but the situation gets hairy when Jude grows closer to Huy, raising the stakes with both their memories now on the line. Jude and Huy’s budding romance is both tender and heartbreaking, given that readers are constantly aware of potential tragedy looming over every sweet moment. The romantic tension between the two will move even the most stonehearted readers. A deep look at the expectations of family and society and how they can negatively affect teenagers’ lives fills out the narrative.
A well-crafted slow-burn romance with plenty of depth. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781338777697
Page Count: 320
Publisher: PUSH/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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