The author of, most recently, Happy Endings (1991) begins a trilogy about British schoolgirls whose lives parallel familiar fairy tales. Protagonist Megan (Rapunzel) is an orphan whose schoolmistress guardian, Dorothy, satisfied Megan's mother's craving for asparagus (a stand-in for rampion/rape) before Megan's birth. With intriguing ingenuity, Geras mimics the original tale: the three girls room in a tower conveniently equipped with a workmen's scaffold that Simon, a young science instructor, climbs for trysts with Megan; Dorothy, who also entertains romantic notions about Simon, discovers the guilty pair and exiles them after crushing Simon's glasses. Geras writes with imagination and grace, following the story of ``Rapunzel'' but also having Megan narrate from a London flat where the lovers are confronting the unromantic realities of dead-end jobs—an instructive contrast to the ardent scenes in the tower. Here, too, as in the original story, the characters are schematic—Simon, especially, exists as a one-dimensional object of passion (another sly lesson). But what most holds attention is the fascinating parallel between the credible modern details and the original. Roommates Bella, whose jealous stepmother plies her with apples, and Alice, one of whose 13 aunts caused a fuss at her christening, presage the pleasures in the books to follow. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-15-289627-9
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1992
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution.
A teenage girl finds herself alone after everyone else in her town mysteriously disappears, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to find them all.
One late summer day, everybody in July Fielding’s town disappears. She is left to piece together what happened, following a series of cryptic signs she finds around town urging her to “GET THEM BACK.” The narrative moves back and forth between July’s present and the events of the summer before, when her relationship with her best friend, cross-country team co-captain Sydney, starts to fracture due to a combination of jealousy over July’s new relationship with a cute boy called Sam and sweet up-and-coming freshman Ella’s threatening to overtake Syd’s status as star of the track team. The team members participate in a ritual in which they jump off a cliff into the rocky waters below at the end of their Friday practice runs. Though Ella is reluctant, Syd pressures her to jump. Short, frenetically paced sections move the story along quickly, and there is much foreshadowing pointing to something terrible that occurred at the end of that summer, which may be the key to July’s current predicament, but there is much misdirection too. Ultimately this is a story without enough setup to make the turn the book takes in the end feel fully developed or earned. All characters read white.
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593327173
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
A satisfying rivals-to-lovers romance played to the beat of marching bands and D&D dice rolls.
Can former friends, now members of mutually antagonistic marching band sections, trade rivalry for love?
In Glen Vale High’s marching band, the percussion section and color guard are bitter rivals. Senior Hazel Buchanan, whose mother—a former Glen Vale Marching Knights trumpet player—pours on the pressure to succeed, is captain of the unfortunately mediocre color guard. Recently, her junior high friend and secret crush, Max Coleman, moved back to town—and he’s grown distractingly hot. However, not only does he play percussion, for unknown reasons he’s taken against Hazel. While mean pranks and an ill-conceived bet fuel the band rivalry, at home, Hazel’s parents welcome Max’s mother back into their Dungeons & Dragons game—and the parents assume the two will hang out together like they used to. Can D&D offer Hazel and Max, who present white, a path back to friendship—and maybe more? Fans of both marching band and D&D will find much to love in the detailed descriptions of both activities and how they resonate through the characters’ lives. While the band rivalry feels somewhat contrived, Max and Hazel’s personal challenges ring true. As Max struggles with his parents’ separation, Hazel faces her mother’s crushing expectations, trying to train and bond her rookie team, and being a first-time Dungeon Master. The romance between these two overly competitive ex-friends is sweet.
A satisfying rivals-to-lovers romance played to the beat of marching bands and D&D dice rolls. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780593899229
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
