This muddled mystery rests on elaborate machinations with disproportionate motivations, but the emotional odyssey should...
A duo becomes a trio and tries to settle family feuds in this relationship-focused crime caper sequel to A Study in Charlotte (2016).
On school break, white teenagers Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson trade Connecticut for the Continent. Raised on the legendary escapades of the original Holmes and Watson, hapless narrator Jamie romanticizes a girl who rejects his affection—à la the works of John Green and Woody Allen—and feels out of his element among the elite. Sober but still scarred by her sexual assault, Charlotte uses the cases of a missing uncle and a poisoned parent to escape to her brother Milo’s high-security Berlin bachelor pad. There, the two gain a partner, August Moriarty—Charlotte’s former tutor, first crush, and alleged homicide victim—whose resurfacing does not fully appease his criminal kin. The forgery subplot, parodied-but-still-pretentious art scene, dark humor, witty dialogue, and action scenes thankfully leaven the relentless relationship drama. Cavallaro expands beyond Doyle’s storylines while still using his characters and their hallmark behaviors, but this second outing somehow feels less original than the series opener. Although characters sometimes skate close to caricature, the young Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty contend with “a metric ton of psychic damage” in a raw and unflinching manner.
This muddled mystery rests on elaborate machinations with disproportionate motivations, but the emotional odyssey should satisfy readers seeking a contemporary, teenage take on the Baker Street pair. (Mystery. 14 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-239894-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
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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