Music-obsessed Riley and Reid, a writer, are shocked to find out that their fellow band mates, Lucy (Riley's once–best...
So many boys, so little time; what's a rock girl to do?
Music-obsessed Riley and Reid, a writer, are shocked to find out that their fellow band mates, Lucy (Riley's once–best friend and former confidante) and Nathan, have not only been secretly dating, they’ve also been doing it. Feeling glaringly inexperienced, Riley and Reid decide to keep a handwritten notebook—nicknamed the Passenger Manifest from the TV show Lost—chronicling all of their experiences with love, dating and sex. To Riley's surprise, she becomes involved with three guys: science-loving Garrick, who once dated a celebrity; Ted Callahan, her longtime, irresistibly floppy-haired crush; and Milo, a fellow band geek and tuba player. Riley and Reid carefully record every detail of their dating foibles, but when the Passenger Manifest turns up missing, what are they to do? Narrated mainly by Riley, the story provides small snippets of Reid's dating life—and, regrettably, little else about him—in the entries from the Passenger Manifest that appear between prose chapters. Riley’s approach to sex is a long way from Forever…; losing her virginity seems to be more an item on her to-do list than a milestone moment. A not-so-fluffy chick-lit offering rife with angst, rock ’n’ roll and lots of kissing. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-37152-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Engrossing, contemplative, and as heart-wrenching as the title promises.
What would you do with one day left to live?
In an alternate present, a company named Death-Cast calls Deckers—people who will die within the coming day—to inform them of their impending deaths, though not how they will happen. The End Day call comes for two teenagers living in New York City: Puerto Rican Mateo and bisexual Cuban-American foster kid Rufus. Rufus needs company after a violent act puts cops on his tail and lands his friends in jail; Mateo wants someone to push him past his comfort zone after a lifetime of playing it safe. The two meet through Last Friend, an app that connects lonely Deckers (one of many ways in which Death-Cast influences social media). Mateo and Rufus set out to seize the day together in their final hours, during which their deepening friendship blossoms into something more. Present-tense chapters, short and time-stamped, primarily feature the protagonists’ distinctive first-person narrations. Fleeting third-person chapters give windows into the lives of other characters they encounter, underscoring how even a tiny action can change the course of someone else’s life. It’s another standout from Silvera (History Is All You Left Me, 2017, etc.), who here grapples gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived.
Engrossing, contemplative, and as heart-wrenching as the title promises. (Speculative fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-245779-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
PROFILES
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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