A frothy and fun retelling.
Pride and Prejudice meets celebrity romance in this contemporary work set in rural Australia and Hollywood.
This modern take on Austen’s classic centers on Lily, a recent high school graduate living with her younger sister, Rosie, and single mother, Lydia, in the tiny, idyllic community of Pippi Beach, which is tucked away and hidden from Sydney by bushland. The family resides year-round in the expansive beach house of Lily’s wealthy aunt Jane. When Casey Brandon, a charming young American actor, and his entourage—his influencer sister, Cecilia, her friend Yumi, and his aloof best friend, Dorian Khan, an even bigger movie star—rent Pippi Beach’s most luxurious property, Lily and Juliet, her lovely, shy cousin from the city, encounter the VIP visitors at a local party. Despite overbearing Lydia’s meddling, Casey and Juliet quickly become genuinely smitten, while Dorian remains wary of the small resort town’s insular, aspirational inhabitants. Lily’s gap-year trip to Los Angeles further amplifies the celebrity angle, while the book stays remarkably faithful to Austen’s plot beats. The Australian mother-daughter authors cleverly reimagine Mr. Collins as an obsequious production assistant and Lady Catherine de Bourgh as his ruthless producer boss. Lydia and her sisters are based on the Bennet siblings, adding another layer of homage to Austen, although the focus remains squarely on Lily and Juliet’s generation. Lily and her family present white, and names cue diversity in the supporting cast.
A frothy and fun retelling. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781536239034
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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 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
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