An entertaining personal journey with plot twists galore.
A teen seeks the answer to a long-buried family secret during a drama-filled summer.
Millie Price knows she wants to perform on Broadway, where her outgoing and larger-than-life personality will shine, and attending a prestigious musical theater pre-college program in Los Angeles for her senior year would help her get ahead of the game, not to mention offering a fresh start after being haunted by an excruciatingly embarrassing viral video from her middle school musical. Unfortunately, she would be leaving behind New York City; her school’s epic senior year musical; her theater crew; her lifelong best friend, Teddy; and her single father. The summer after junior year, Millie and Teddy, both implied White, discover the LiveJournal her father kept at age 20 and realize from clues it contains that Millie’s mother, who left her as a baby, might be living in the city. Millie leaps into Mamma Mia!–inspired action, tracking down the three women who could be her mother. Chock-full of musical theater references and humor, the novel includes high-stakes emotional drama that is balanced by supportive friendships and strong, deep family connections. The slow-burn rivals-to-lovers romance with Oliver, a Chinese American classmate, is satisfying and relies on a slowly built relationship of trust. Millie’s anxiety contrasts with her flamboyant and outwardly confident personality, adding to an intriguing exploration of self-image, self-worth, and belonging as she searches for her mother.
An entertaining personal journey with plot twists galore. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-78334-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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