by Bella Thorne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 10, 2015
This light-as-air read will appeal mostly to young teens, who will appreciate all the roller-coaster romance, Autumn's...
Teen actor Thorne follows her first novel in the Autumn’s Fall series with this installment, set during the titular Cuban-American character's junior year at her new high school in Florida.
Relationship drama is the name of the game, and it's well-balanced by the breezy, comic tone. Autumn is disappointed to find that the magic diary bestowed upon her by her beloved, recently deceased father seems to have stopped working. She's therefore delighted when she discovers a map that instantly transports her to whatever destination she writes on it. She uses this mainly to make matches among her friends and gets into the kind of situational jams that might be expected, with her dyslexia at times contributing to these. Autumn's funny firecracker of a grandmother assures her that the indigenous Caribbean Taíno people, to whom the magic is attributed, work in ways that are "a mystery." This treatment of culture as vague plot device also occurs when Reenzie, Autumn's frenemy and rival for football quarterback Sean, starts a petition to change the team's name from the "Indians" in order to look good on her college applications.
This light-as-air read will appeal mostly to young teens, who will appreciate all the roller-coaster romance, Autumn's tightknit family, and her recurring run-ins with a fictional young heartthrob named Kyler Leeds. (Romance. 12-16)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-74435-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
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by Stephanie Garber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 2021
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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by Jerry Spinelli ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 3, 2021
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.
For two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience.
On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior—and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery—not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. Characters follow a White default.
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30667-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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by Jerry Spinelli ; illustrated by Larry Day
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by Jerry Spinelli ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
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