More twisty K-drama-esque fun with new stakes to confront.
With alternate realities collapsing, one teenager might just disappear.
When Mina vanished from the webcomic she created and returned to her normal life in The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee (2024), Jin swore he would remember her—and he does, though everyone else around him has forgotten her and everything that happened when she was in his world. Jin is shocked, though, to one day suddenly find himself in Mina’s universe. Between the Korean American teens’ kisses and snappy exchanges, he realizes that he can jump back and forth between the two worlds—but not without dire consequences for his reality. Jin’s teleportation has attracted the attention of a powerful corporation, and he and Mina must figure out whom they can trust—and in which universe—before Jin disappears completely. Jin also faces hard decisions when it comes to his birth mother, who he believes abandoned him in Mina’s world, and the white family who raised him in his own. As in the first series entry, this title features funny dialogue, fast-paced action, and a simple narrative voice that makes issues such as transracial adoption and identity accessible. This writing style does, however, sometimes lead to the spoon-feeding of reveals, leaving little room for readers to make their own inferences.
More twisty K-drama-esque fun with new stakes to confront. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9780593125984
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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