A queer romance that really goes the distance.
In middle school, Mari and Taylor had a plan: The best friends were going to be on the cross-country team at Jefferson High together.
But a lot has changed since then: Mari’s family moved to a different school district, Taylor covered up her dad’s kidney disease, driving a wedge between them—and the two girls started freshman year estranged and on competing teams. Three years later, when Mari’s single mother is forced to move the family, the two girls finally become teammates. Unfortunately, their complicated history means Mari and Taylor, who are both Black, are anything but friends again. Following an embarrassing public fight, their coach orders them to volunteer at a local animal rescue. While spending their Sundays together walking dogs, the girls finally begin communicating honestly with one another. By being vulnerable about their challenges—Mari’s mother leans on her to help with her younger siblings, Taylor feels pressure to live up to her star athlete father’s reputation, and his illness has taken a toll—they rediscover their friendship and build self-confidence. Told in the girls’ alternating voices, this heartfelt friends-to-rivals-to-lovers romance is a quick, entertaining read. It chronicles the girls’ intricate relationship while also addressing important familial and social themes. While at times Taylor’s and Mari’s voices are difficult to distinguish, and the subplot exploring socioeconomic differences doesn’t get as much development as it deserves, the complexities of the overall story more than carry the narrative.
A queer romance that really goes the distance. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780374389154
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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