A romantic read celebrating love, self-acceptance, and familial ties.
A story centering intense and heartfelt family dynamics.
Arjun Mehta has been in love with best friend Madhuri Iyer since they were 13. As senior year begins, the duo sit down for their annual astrological reading by Madhuri’s mom. Apparently, Arjun is going to have a year filled with successes in “education, athletics, and love.” Madhuri, however, struggles against the prediction that this year she’ll “crash and burn.” She also resents the prophecy that says the women in her family will marry the first person they fall in love with; to her, it feels like a curse stopping her from having casual fun with dating. Madhuri hatches an experiment about kismat, or fate: She and Arjun will date until June, proving Madhuri is in charge of her own destiny. Only, their feelings deepen even as Arjun deals with his frequently absent divorced mother, who now makes occasional forays into establishing a relationship, and Madhuri struggles to embrace Indian culture in the face of internalized shame resulting from bullying by former friends. Strongly portrayed family dynamics add depth and tension to Arjun and Madhuri’s romance, although the pace of this debut is at times too slow and characters’ feelings are often spelled out for readers with a heavy hand. However, the cast members are a joy to spend time with, and the familial and romantic subplots intertwine beautifully.
A romantic read celebrating love, self-acceptance, and familial ties. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9781335453686
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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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