A poignant and humorous neuroqueer romance.
Hanna McCowan is constantly moving around.
Her mother is in the Army, and Hanna is once again trying to start her life over in a new location: Fayetteville, North Carolina. As an out lesbian with ADHD, Hanna is always wary when it comes to making new friends. As an Army brat, she’s also wary of losing friends. When she first sees Zoe Aaron in Spanish class at her new school, she’s instantly enthralled. Zoe is an autistic bisexual girl “whose personality is eighty percent ballerina”—and who definitely has a boyfriend. But when Zoe meets Hanna, her entire worldview shifts. Hanna begins working as a pianist at the ballet studio where Zoe dances and the two girls connect. They decide to work together on Zoe’s audition for a professional ballet company, something Zoe has conflicted feelings about pursuing. In this self-aware will-they, won’t-they romance, the leads navigate their complex feelings for each other, their dynamics with mutual friends, and their distinctly neurodivergent brains. Written from both girls’ points of view, the hilarious and swoonworthy narrative is a joy to read. The protagonists’ authentic voices are engaging and realistic, and readers will easily identify with them. There are times when the timing of events isn’t completely clear, and some of the inside jokes among characters may be confusing, but the delicious drama and steamy romance more than carry the story. The white-presenting main characters are Jewish (Hanna’s mom is Catholic).
A poignant and humorous neuroqueer romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9781335013903
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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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