This familiar-feeling if slightly overlong debut should resonate with fans of Morgan Matson, John Green, and Rainbow Rowell.
While both are volunteering at a Miami Beach retirement home, an aspiring astrophysicist and a young filmmaker befriend a famous octogenarian who’s presumed dead.
Ever since Linny’s 18-year-old older sister, Grace, disappeared five months earlier, leaving nothing but a note to take care of her pet turtle, Linny has kept a journal about missing people who’ve reappeared after weeks, months, and years. Mixed-race Linny’s Nigerian mother and “Viking” father fearfully keep a close watch on their remaining daughter and try to keep her focused on their goals of Princeton and med school. The summer before senior year, Linny is performing community service at a retirement community, where she spies 83-year-old Álvaro Herrera, the Cuban-born author of Midnight in Miami, a bestselling book adapted into a cult-movie classic. No one had seen or heard of Herrera in three years, and Linny believes if she discovers why he returned, Grace may as well. Cal Tech–bound science wiz Sebastian finds out that Álvaro is his long-lost father and immediately flies down to Miami to volunteer at the home in hopes of meeting his dad. Linny and Sebastian meet, adventure amiably around Miami on errands for Álvaro, and, predictably, fall in love. The author crowds the dual narration with occasionally distracting excerpts from Linny’s journal, a work-in-progress screenplay about Grace, and quotes from Sebastian’s favorite physics book.
This familiar-feeling if slightly overlong debut should resonate with fans of Morgan Matson, John Green, and Rainbow Rowell. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-256396-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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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