A sweet romance with a quick sense of humor and supernatural action.
A teenage girl is drawn into a secret supernatural war.
After a terrible accident, Paige Kelly sees dead people. Watching her talk to invisible people has led everyone from schoolmates to family members to think she is mentally ill. The only people nice to “Bellevue Kelly” (as her tormenters call her) are a hot new boy who borrows pens from her and Dottie, who died in the 1950s in the school’s third-floor bathroom. Paige’s narration is delightfully funny—it’s not snarky for the sake of snark but genuinely witty. When new transfer students show up and reveal demonic powers in attacking Paige, the hot pen-borrower—Logan—swoops in for the rescue and expository revelations. It appears that Paige’s supernatural abilities have caught the attention of demons in the alternate version of New York—the titular Dark World—so their enemies, the warlocks, sent demonslayer Logan to protect her. He falls for her, of course, but the relationship between the two develops slowly; their combined romantic inexperience leads to natural, hilarious and awkward fumbling. The demonic storyline, which is moved to the back burner as the romance blooms, hints at double crosses and intrigues, to be explored (hopefully) in the next book. The cliffhanger ending is less a conclusion and more a temporary stopping point.
A sweet romance with a quick sense of humor and supernatural action. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-373-21120-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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