An enthralling tale with a touch of the supernatural that’s both romantic and heartfelt.
In Zepka’s YA novel, an 18-year-old struggles to unravel the mystery surrounding himself and the invisible boy he’s falling for.
High school graduate Stetson Delancey is dead-set on leaving his Pennsylvania hometown. His departure leads to a bad breakup; Stetson carves his and his irate ex-boyfriend’s names off of the Ardor Tree, a popular spot for couples. He’s barely started his summer job as a pool inspector when he has a run-in with Xander Pomers, who’s shocked and happy that someone can see him—no one has been able to perceive Xander for nearly a decade. Stetson, too, is invisible—but only to a single person, his ex, Murray. He and Xander investigate this strange state of affairs with help from Stetson’s reliable best friend, Whitley Wyomen. They have many questions: Are there others out there who, like Xander, have been declared missing? Why is Stetson’s invisibility selective? Does it have anything to do with the Ardor Tree? (“We get the tree to fight back. Maybe if it smacks me across the head again, I’ll wake up from this nightmare.”) One thing is for certain: Stetson doesn’t mind spending his summer with Xander, getting closer to the boy only he can see. Warming up to Zepka’s protagonist, who narrates, takes some time. Stetson chooses a college randomly; his sole reason for going seems to be to escape his home state (he does have the sense to both acknowledge his flaws and aim to better himself). This LGBTQ+ story is largely positive—Stetson is openly and proudly gay, and his parents and Whitley are endearingly supportive. (Whitley, by contrast, has a troubled home life, as her alcoholic father all but abandoned her, and the individual she relies on most is her graying chocolate lab, Bennie.) These absorbing characters headline a measured but involving mystery that stirs up such real-world issues as self-isolation and self-acceptance. The crisp prose and succinct chapters make everything pop, allowing readers to breeze through this novel.
An enthralling tale with a touch of the supernatural that’s both romantic and heartfelt.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9798999280725
Page Count: 332
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
