A delightfully compelling coming-of-age romance.
A misanthropic loner’s community service starts off motivated by self-interest but ends up changing her life.
Seventeen-year-old gamer Eloise Deane’s dream is to attend the University of Southern California’s computer science program. But since her father was recently laid off, Eloise needs to both apply for admission and try to get a generous scholarship, forcing her to pad her impressive academic resume with community service. She begrudgingly agrees to volunteer with LifeCare, a nonprofit that matches volunteers with older people in need of regular conversation and companionship. Friendless after ghosting her best friends during a difficult episode with anxiety and depression the previous year, sarcastic and introverted Eloise is taken aback by Austin Yang, LifeCare’s smiley, outgoing star teen volunteer who’s assigned to train her. Eloise joins Austin for his regular house visits to Marianne Landis, a lonely 73-year-old who’s no stereotypical senior; she’s the former lead singer of The Laundromats, a famous 1970s and ’80s rock band. As Eloise and Austin, who is an open and kind musician with surprising layers, begin regularly visiting Marianne together, Eloise grows unnervingly attached to both her new friends. The slow-burn, grumpy-sunshine romance develops organically, as does Eloise’s strengthening sense of self-worth. The author convincingly details Eloise’s family dynamics (unemployed dad, self-employed mom, pesky 11-year-old sister) as well as the MMORPG game she’s mastered. Austin is Korean American in a main cast that otherwise presents White.
A delightfully compelling coming-of-age romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781534493575
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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
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