A spoiled celebu-spawn fakes addiction to worm her way into rehab and follow her crush, but she finds that it isn’t as she expected (gasp!).
Full of sass and witty banter, Lola Carlyle, daughter of an esteemed (though largely absent) father and a soap-opera-star (and hypercritical) mother, hasn’t a clue how she’s to spend her last summer before she turns 18. However, when she learns from her best frenemy, Sydney, who is in rehab, that her crush—the handsome actor Wade Miller—is a patient there, Lola is determined to get herself admitted. Once she concocts a lie passably large enough, she is indeed admitted. Instead of the spalike environment she envisioned, Lola quickly discovers that rehab—and keeping up her pretense—is harder than she thought. To add another wrinkle, Lola's mentor, Adam, is annoyingly cute and seems to be taking a special interest in her. Playing this premise—Lola’s faking alcoholism to satisfy a schoolgirl crush—for laughs is more than a bit disconcerting, as is the blossoming relationship between mentor and (supposed) patient. The presumed love triangle, which should buoy this frothy fare, plummets when Lola makes a clear choice long before the conclusion. While some of the love scenes do have some sizzle, ultimately, there just isn’t enough spark to save this.
A marginal beach read only for die-hard chick-lit fans who can overlook its multiple stumbles. (Chick-lit. 13-16)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62266-785-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Can a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms?
Cass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing “The Sims” so much her parents had to take the game away. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. To be fair, her grades are suffering. And sure, maybe she’s missed a college application deadline. Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great—but she still can’t help comparing her to Rowan, Cass’ online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But Rowan doesn’t want to be a dirty little secret and doesn’t see why Cass can’t be honest about this part of her life. The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass’ estranged mother, narratively unearned.
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-324332-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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Is an exuberant extended family the cure for a breakup? Sophie is about to find out.
When Sophie unexpectedly breaks up with her boyfriend, she isn’t thrilled about spending the holidays at her grandparents’ house instead of with him. And when her grandmother forms a plan to distract Sophie from her broken heart—10 blind dates, each set up by different family members—she’s even less thrilled. Everyone gets involved with the matchmaking, even forming a betting pool on the success of each date. But will Sophie really find someone to fill the space left by her ex? Will her ex get wind of Sophie’s dating spree via social media and want them to get back together? Is that what she even wants anymore? This is a fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family. The pace is quick and light, though the characters are fairly shallow and occasionally feel interchangeable, especially with so many names involved. A Christmas tale, the plot is a fast-paced series of dinners, parties, and games, relayed in both narrative form and via texts, though the humor occasionally feels stiff and overwrought. The ending is satisfying, though largely unsurprising. Most characters default to white as members of Sophie’s Italian American extended family, although one of her cousins has a Filipina mother. One uncle is gay.
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02749-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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