Aside from its heavenly premise, this brisk, down-to-earth thriller should appeal equally to male and female readers.
“There’s something about having a fight with a ghost that makes you paranoid in the morning.”
On his first day at an exclusive private high school in Santa Monica, freshman Jeff Clayson discovers that he is being stalked by the ghost of a former student who drowned two years earlier. Jeff can see and hear Kimberlee Schaffer loud and clear, but to everyone else she is invisible. Apart from disappearing through walls when it suits her, she behaves like any other kleptomaniac teenage brat. Kimberlee has a mission for Jeff. She wants him to help her atone for her past sins so that she can move on to the place with bright lights where she believes the peaceful dead end up. It takes Jeff a while to realize what a bizarre drama he has let himself get involved in. Finding the love of his dreams, who, it turns out, has played a significant role in Kimberlee’s criminal past, only complicates matters further. In a refreshing departure from her plant-based paranormal-romance series (Destined, 2012, etc.), Pike develops the pleasantly fractious relationship between Jeff and Kimberlee in Jeff’s earthy, humorous first-person as he only initially reluctantly takes the high road to help her.
Aside from its heavenly premise, this brisk, down-to-earth thriller should appeal equally to male and female readers. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)Pub Date: April 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-199900-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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