A timely love story that will encourage readers to reflect on life and priorities.
When Love Thompson shoots to social media stardom, she thinks she has it all—but she soon learns that fame has a price.
Love has spent her entire life working toward her dreams of being a singer and dancer, and she’s on the way to fulfilling them. She has a full-ride scholarship to a university in Tennessee, making her the first in her family to attend college. Then a video of her at graduation goes viral, transforming her dreams into reality as she heads to Los Angeles and teams up, both professionally and romantically, with singer Lil’ D. But the spotlight isn’t all she thought it would be, and when everything blows up spectacularly, Love must try to repair her image. What better way than with a fake romance with wholesome Austin, a boy she had a meet-cute with? Austin’s father recently died, his girlfriend broke up with him, and now his family faces financial struggles and might have to sell their diner. Then Love pops up in his DMs. What starts as a way to show her followers that she isn’t a hot mess turns into something real—and she needs to decide what she really wants. The highs and lows of social media are on full display, and readers will connect with the dilemmas it poses. The growth of the white-presenting leads, who share the narration, is a real strength.
A timely love story that will encourage readers to reflect on life and priorities. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781665950626
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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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