A heartfelt romance that shows how letting go of the past can bring you an even brighter future.
Two high school rivals learn there’s more to each other than meets the eye.
With her college dreams hinging on the success of her jewelry business, Harper is desperate to be awarded a Young Entrepreneurs Grant and frustrated that everyone at her school privileges the athletes. Hockey team member Dawson hopes to be recruited by college scouts; he’s also battling pressure from his dad, a former hockey star. Though Harper and Dawson find each other annoying, they often cross paths since Harper works at Dawson’s family’s diner. When Dawson’s coach is fired for misuse of funds, one of the hockey players starts a rumor that Harper is involved. But over time, the dynamic between Dawson and Harper begins to change as they reevaluate themselves and each other. Despite the slow start, this charming enemies-to-lovers narrative succeeds thanks to the well-paced progression of the leads’ relationship. Their alternating first-person points of view allow the complexities of their inner feelings to show through. The characters’ interactions feel intentional, and the emphasis on connection and friendship extends beyond romance, for example, through the supportive, open communication between Dawson and his friends Alex and Ryan. Charlotte’s debut successfully combines sports, friendship, and the emotional highs and lows of high school love. Main characters are cued white.
A heartfelt romance that shows how letting go of the past can bring you an even brighter future. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781665971423
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
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
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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