An interesting premise that fails to spark.
A lonely gay teen with a burning desire for love meets a mysterious new boy with explosive powers who is on the run from an evil corporation.
As the only openly gay boy in his grade, high school junior Dylan Highmark has few prospects for romance, even with the help of Perry and Kirsten, two cheerleaders who are his best friends. Although his parents enthusiastically (and annually) celebrate his coming out, Dylan has no LGBTQ+ peer community support, something further emphasized by his school’s Gay Straight Alliance, where he is the first gay member in years and most participants describe themselves as allies. Dylan is desperate to escape his Philadelphia suburb until Jordan Ator arrives and lights up his world, literally. Jordan moved from Arizona to escape HydroPro, the hydrogen fuel corporation responsible for his parents’ deaths and his own mutant fire powers following a car crash. Unfortunately, Jordan can’t control his combustibility, and HydroPro has no intention of letting him get away. Several times throughout this novel, characters express that their circumstances make no sense, a refrain that unfortunately captures both the unfolding plot and the foundation for the hydrogen-based superpowers. HydroPro knows Jordan’s location due to the string of publicized arsons connected to his powers, making their struggle to apprehend him unbelievable. There are many instances of casual fatphobia alongside the valorization of muscled bodies. Main characters read as White.
An interesting premise that fails to spark. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-06471-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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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