A highly readable YA novel about teen life and romance.
A gay high schooler dives into the dating world in Roamer’s fifth YA novel in a series.
High school junior RV is excelling academically at the prestigious Boston Latin School, but his guidance counselor tells him that he needs to find some extracurriculars to make his college applications shine. His best friend, Carole, uses this as an excuse to make RV her campaign manager in her quest to become a representative on the powerful School Site Council. However, his boss at the local movie theater decides to promote him to projectionist, which comes with a new slate of stresses. Meanwhile, RV’s Lithuanian immigrant parents, who now know he’s gay—though they haven’t said much about it—expect more help at home from RV and his brother, Ray, including assistance flipping a house they recently purchased. As RV struggles to handle these new responsibilities, he’s thrown into a tentative new relationship with Luke, a handsome new classmate whom he meets at a swanky party. Will RV manage to keep all his plates spinning while embarking on that most terrifying of teenage endeavors: dating? Roamer’s prose is slick and accessible, and he succeeds in placing the reader right in the middle of RV’s anxious adolescent mind. Here, for instance, the teen chastises himself for looking forward to a planned date with Luke: “Don’t get too excited, RV. You’ve been there before. You know how these things go. And even if Luke says you didn’t screw anything up the first time, that second chance is also another chance for screwing things up.” The book isn’t entirely realistic; RV and his peers don’t talk much like contemporary American teens, and with the exception of the opinionated Carole, the secondary characters don’t feel very distinctive. Regardless, RV makes for an endearing protagonist, and fans of earlier books in the series will not be let down by this one.
A highly readable YA novel about teen life and romance.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-64890-490-5
Page Count: 130
Publisher: NineStar Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Disappointing.
Unlikely friends fight their growing feelings for each other while placing bets on other people’s love lives.
Bailey met Charlie while flying from Alaska, where she grew up, to Nebraska, where she and her mom would be living after her parents’ divorce. Although they briefly bonded over their parents’ divorces, Charlie’s cynicism grated on the rule-following Bailey, and she was thankful to part ways with him. Three years later, to Bailey’s dismay, she runs into Charlie when they both land jobs at Planet Funnn, a mega-hotel that’s “like a giant landlocked cruise ship.” This time around, Bailey and Charlie begin to get along better. To entertain themselves during their long shifts, they observe and make bets about the hotel guests. But they risk taking it too far when they bet on whether their co-worker Theo will end up with Nekesa, Bailey’s best friend, who’s in “a perfect relationship with the perfect guy.” The book explores Bailey’s conflicted feelings toward her mom’s new relationship with Scott (who doesn’t “do anything wrong” but whose presence changes “the vibe” at home), but it does so in a way that diminishes a primary source of conflict. Bailey's and Charlie’s feelings become even more complicated when Charlie helps Bailey with a fake-dating scheme intended to scare Scott off. Some of the banter between the leads, who are coded white, feels more aggressive than playful, detracting from their intimacy, and the circuitous plot may fail to sustain readers’ interest.
Disappointing. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781665921237
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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