Readers looking for a romance with heart and humor will be thoroughly entertained.
At a glitzy Las Vegas influencer convention, two teens form a secret partnership that could spark chaos on and off camera.
Jamie Webb, a “half-Black, half-white” 17-year-old, prefers life behind the scenes of her influencer grandma BamBam’s social media empire. But things get complicated when BamBam’s nemesis, fellow #Granfluencer Buzzy Timmons, shows up with her cute grandson, Ethan Wyatt, who’s cued white. When the TrendCon founder announces a video contest with a $150,000 prize that could launch Jamie’s film school dreams, she’s eager to enter. The catch? She realizes it’s “as much a popularity contest” as about art, and without her own social media presence, she doesn’t stand a chance. Jamie knows she shouldn’t fraternize with the enemy, but Ethan invites her to team up and enter—and sparks fly. They just have to keep their plans secret from their feuding grandmothers. Their covert escapades grow increasingly flirty even as Jamie grapples with her overbearing parents’ expectations that she go to business school and her guilt over keeping secrets from her supportive grandmother. The premise of dueling senior influencers is original and entertaining, and the Vegas backdrop offers opportunities for cinematic flair. Woolridge deftly balances high-energy hijinks with heartfelt themes of independence and identity. Jamie and Ethan’s chemistry is sweet, and their creative collaboration adds believability to their satisfying relationship.
Readers looking for a romance with heart and humor will be thoroughly entertained. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9780593899311
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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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