A charming debut with real substance.
A senior’s fervent attempt to stretch her horizons reveals that some things just can’t be planned.
Aisha Agarwal, who’s attending Arledge Preparatory on a scholarship, always aims for the top—from the school of her dreams (Stanford) to the boy of her dreams (Brian Wu, co-valedictorian and former childhood friend). With Brian recently out of a relationship and maybe, finally, speaking to her again, the main thing still tugging at Aisha’s mind is a Stanford application prompt: “Share a time you left your comfort zone.” When a mix-up introduces Aisha to the beaming, laid-back Quentin Santos, a biracial (Italian/Filipino) tennis player from a neighboring public school, their ensuing friendship results in Aisha’s tutoring Quentin in exchange for his helping Aisha follow through on a list of beyond-her-comfort-zone experiences she wants to complete by graduation—things that she told herself she couldn’t do earlier due to her academic focus and the strictness of her Indian immigrant parents. Along the way, Aisha discovers that people, herself included, tend to be far less one-note than they might appear. With equal parts humor and gravity, the narrative tackles subjects such as self-acceptance, anxiety, differences in socio-economic status, and cultural and religious traditions (Aisha’s family is Hindu; Quentin’s is Catholic). A lovable cast of characters, laugh-out-loud scenes, and a slow-but-steady romance all make for a breezy yet earnest read.
A charming debut with real substance. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780063347168
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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