A high-energy homage to 1990s teen movies.
In Backus’ debut YA novel, two best friends, one straight and one gay, conspire to break up their private school’s most popular couple.
Zack Standish doesn’t fit in with the rich kids at Watson Christian Academy in the Seattle suburbs, where his offbeat skater-boy look causes him to stick out in a crowd. Imagine his delight when his best friend from childhood suddenly moves back to town after five years in Los Angeles. Josh Bradshaw is the same old guy, but he’s got something to tell Zack before they pick up their friendship where it left off: Josh is gay. And for years Josh has been secretly in love with Zack’s archrival, Brian “Superjock” Esau. Zack loathes Brian, the school’s star athlete, because he’s dating the girl whom Zack is in love with—the gorgeous Missy Hoff. Josh is pretty sure that Brian reciprocates his feelings, which gives Zack a crazy idea: What if Zack and Josh conspire to wreck Brian and Missy’s relationship? “ ‘You want us to break them up for our own devices?!’ Josh leaped to his feet as Zack nodded. ‘Why, for God’s sake?’ ‘For sex, of course! Why else?’ ” It’s a bonkers plan—the best ones always are—and it only gets wilder after the boys accept the help of Brian’s sister, Jamie, the school’s resident manipulator. The high school culture that Backus creates feels notably cinematic; it’s not at all realistic, but it’s entertaining, nonetheless. The author gives the plot some appealing dimension by including Brian and Missy as point-of-view characters, adding unexpected depth to the king and queen of the school; Brian is in therapy to figure out why he isn’t happy with his life, and Missy doesn’t feel secure in the relationship because she suspects that Jamie hates her. Overall, the book has a big heart and should please fans of both high-school comedy films and YA fiction.
A high-energy homage to 1990s teen movies.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 9781611534665
Page Count: 326
Publisher: Torchflame Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans.
Romantic complications between a trained killer and one of her captors drive this sequel to Watch Me (2025).
Appealing to readers who prefer their romantic dramas to be light on action and heavy on long passages of banter, bitter sibling arguments, and tortured reflections, Mafi continues the tale of Rosabelle Wolff, the flaxen-haired assassin from the dystopic Reestablishment, and magnetic, “impossibly stunning” James Anderson, her nemesis-turned-lover who’s still trying to take down the regime. Now desperate to accomplish several secret missions, Rosa easily escapes from one of The New Republic’s prisons, where she was left in the series opener, and, dressed in “a little kid’s cat onesie,” eludes all pursuers except for James, who can seemingly find her at will. Enigmatic Rosa responds unpredictably to many human contacts—including with violence, temporary death (one of her abilities), or a sudden panic attack. Along with the central pair of rivals and lovers, James’ older brother, Aaron, shares the narration. Bestseller Mafi tucks in several subplots, including, notably, a cameo from Juliette Ferrars, the protagonist of the original Shatter Me series, who’s undergoing a scarily difficult pregnancy. Amid the slowly simmering rising action, the author delivers a revelation and a twist that set up a potential series climax. Some ethnic diversity is present in the supporting cast.
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans. (Dystopian. 14-adult)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780063419056
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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