A sweet romance imbued with kindness and empathy unfolds in a fantasy world that’s filled with intolerance.
Two boys must restore order to an imbalance with life-or-death stakes.
Evan Weaver, an English teenager from Elmwood Vale, keeps his warlock identity secret. Although magic is legal in witches’ and warlocks’ homes—as long as it doesn’t affect the mundane—only Gran, a witch herself, knew the truth about Evan, and she warned him that “People fear what they don’t understand, and fear makes them do terrible things.” Evan’s own father is a witchfinder, someone who hunts down witches and warlocks and strips away their magic. Orpheus, whose late father was human, has an angel mother who escorts the dead to the afterlife, but her keys have been stolen. Without them, the doors between the mortal and spirit realms can’t be properly locked, and no one can die. Orpheus’ mother, like the witchfinders, is quick to blame witches for the theft. While she must remain in the Hall of Styx, she sends Orpheus to the human world—in the form of a teenage human boy—to retrieve the keys. After they meet and he detects Evan’s warlock identity, Orpheus asks him for help with his mission. The novel would have benefited from further exploration and development of the story’s Greek mythology elements, but the white-presenting boys’ naturally progressing relationship is just as lovely as Orpheus’ declaration that, “Whether it’s romantic or platonic, love persists, beyond life.”
A sweet romance imbued with kindness and empathy unfolds in a fantasy world that’s filled with intolerance. (Fantasy romance. 13-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781915585400
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Tiny Ghost Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
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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