A genuinely shocking reveal isn’t enough to save this book.
A grief-stricken Chicago teen finds solace in a meet-cute romance.
After his best friend, Daniel, passes away, Eric finds his life completely uprooted. Instead of attending his first year of college, he fills his days working to avoid his grief, first at a catering company, then in the box office of a prestigious theater. Through frequent flashbacks, Eric’s crush on Daniel plays out alongside their school trip to Japan, where he met the handsome Haru. The two spontaneously wandered together, attending a Star Festival commemorating forbidden lovers. Eric was devastated when he lost Haru’s phone number. Back in the present day, after his sister, Jasmine, announces that she’s leaving for Amsterdam, Eric spirals further. His only solace is Haru’s magical reappearance. As Eric spends time with Haru, he slowly regains his interest in life and filming the world around him. The novel unfortunately requires an immense amount of suspension of disbelief from readers. While the film references and the themes of family and love are intriguing, Haru’s presence detracts from the overarching exploration of grief, and the romance is meandering and difficult to believe in, although it does offer an intriguing commentary on the meet-cute trope. Fortunately, the major plot twist manages to be completely surprising without feeling random, and it brings Eric’s character arc full circle. Eric is Vietnamese American; Daniel is Colombian and white, and Haru is Japanese.
A genuinely shocking reveal isn’t enough to save this book. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781250762061
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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 delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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