A fast-paced and feisty tale, perfect for anyone who’s ever had a book boyfriend.
In this YA novel, a bookish teen embarks on a magical journey she’s previously only read about.
Edena “Edie” Allegra Keller is a superfan of fantasy novels, especially the bestselling The Traveler Chronicles series. For the teen, books provide the only consistency and sense of belonging in a life where her single mother moves them around after a violent incident perpetuated by Edie’s loving, schizophrenic father, who is now in a full-time care facility. Everything changes when Edie’s mother’s nursing job takes the two to Austin, Texas, which has a bookstore with an original Traveler Chronicles review copy. The work may contain clues as to why the last volume ended with hero—and Edie’s “book boyfriend”—Kane the Traveler’s unfortunate demise. When Edie visits the store that houses the manuscript, she’s thrust into the parallel dimension of the Traveler series, which isn’t actually fiction at all. But the books’ author was incorrect regarding many major and minor details, including Kane himself, who instead of a reluctant but noble changeling-turned-savior is a snarky antihero who refers to Edie as “Cupcake” (the image on her food-truck T-shirt). The two set out on a journey that reflects the series in cementing the hero’s royal destiny. Edie must reckon with every skill she possesses in a world that’s both familiar and full of surprises while learning long-held secrets about her hardworking mother and long-lost father—and fighting her attraction to Kane. YA and romance author McKay’s modern feminist take on the classic chosen-one narrative has a spunky, relatable heroine in Edie, who holds a black belt in taekwondo but can’t quite stand up to mean girl bullies in her new high school. Edie discovers her inner and outer strengths in the world of Kane and her favorite characters. Both Edie and Kane have conceivable, realistic character arcs in the fantastical setting, and their quippy banter is a highlight. Readers will find romantic escapism in the lovingly conceived world of Edie’s beloved books.
A fast-paced and feisty tale, perfect for anyone who’s ever had a book boyfriend.Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64063-656-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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