A swoonworthy romance blending strong character development with realistic portrayal of the grieving process.
A cosmic mixed-up breakfast order pushes two Black teens into a merged time loop.
It’s September 24, and Sydney is running late for school, where she’ll have to take a dreaded precalc test. She stops at Dunkin’ for a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant—without the sausage and egg—and bumps into a boy named Marcus. Strangely, they have the same order number and similar tastes, only he’s ordered a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant with no cheese. Marcus invites Sydney to join him for breakfast at a nearby park, and she agrees, figuring that she can make up the test tomorrow. They spend the day together, but as their date winds down and they lean in for a kiss, they hear screeching tires, feel intense pain, and see a blinding light. Sydney wakes up to find it’s September 24 again, but she remembers her day with Marcus. They reconnect at Dunkin’ and begin reliving the same day, including always being painfully ripped apart at 10:15 p.m. Over time, the teens open up to each other about painful losses that still affect them. Readers witness the well-developed evolution of their relationship and their different responses: Sydney wants them to break free from the cycle, while Marcus sees getting stuck with Sydney as a welcome reprieve from grief. Thomas excels at blending meet-cute elements with more serious themes.
A swoonworthy romance blending strong character development with realistic portrayal of the grieving process. (content note, playlist) (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781546111788
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
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