A marginal beach read only for die-hard chick-lit fans who can overlook its multiple stumbles.
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. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A purple page turner.
This sequel to Clockwork Angel (2010) pits gorgeous, attractively broken teens against a menacing evil.
There's betrayal, mayhem and clockwork monstrosities, and the Shadowhunters have only two weeks to discover—oh, who are we kidding? The plot is only surprisingly tasty icing on this cupcake of a melodramatic love triangle. Our heroes are Tessa, who may or may not be a warlock, and the beautiful Shadowhunter warrior boys who are moths to her forbidden flame. It's not always clear why Tessa prefers Will to his beloved (and only) friend Jem, the dying, silver-eyed, biracial sweetheart with the face of an angel. Jem, after all, is gentle and kind, her dearest confidante; Will is unpleasant to everyone around him. But poor, wretched Will—who "would have been pretty if he had not been so tall and so muscular"—has a deep, dark, thoroughly emo secret. His trauma puts all previous romantic difficulties to shame, from the Capulet/Montague feud all the way to Edward Cullen's desire to chomp on Bella Swan. Somehow there's room for an interesting steampunk mystery amid all this angst. The supporting characters (unusually well-developed for a love-triangle romance) include multiple compelling young women who show strength in myriad ways. So what if there are anachronisms, character inconsistencies and weird tonal slips? There's too much overwrought fun to care.
A purple page turner. (Fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7588-5
Page Count: 528
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
Smoothly written and packed with (perhaps too many) challenging issues, Hoyle’s debut may feel a bit glib and predictable to...
A teenager with epilepsy who has recently lost her father to cancer overcomes the depression induced by grief and illness as she acclimates to attending public school for the first time in several years and finds a boyfriend.
Home-schooled and reluctant to engage with strangers, Emilie spends her spare time reading, cuddling with her therapy dog, Hitch, and playing board games with Cindy, her 8-year-old neighbor. Forced to begin classes at the local high school, Emilie is determined to remain aloof. A smart, creative girl named Ayla and a hot (and very nice) boy named Chatham befriend her, making it hard to stay distant and self-contained. Conflicts with her mother, who is just beginning to date, and concern about the potential embarrassment of having a seizure at school further complicate Emilie’s life. Miserable and self-absorbed, Emilie is exceedingly articulate. Indeed, her first-person narration sometimes sounds older than her years, particularly when describing her crush. Extended metaphors abound, most involving water. That’s logical given the Outer Banks setting and Emilie’s fears, but they slow the flow of the plot and contribute to the not entirely believable tone. Emilie seems to be white, and so does her world, aside from the occasional student of color.
Smoothly written and packed with (perhaps too many) challenging issues, Hoyle’s debut may feel a bit glib and predictable to some readers; others will swoon over the dreamy Chatham and root for Emilie to come out of her shell. (Romance. 14-16)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-75851-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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