A collection of short stories about teens finding romance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In these nine stories, some teens face the boredom of being home all day with their families while others deal with the stress of having parents who are essential workers or whose jobs cannot be done from home. All find tender romance—some more satisfying than others given that (except for a girl who falls for her roommate) they’re not getting closer than 6 feet apart. Among the most memorable is Erin Hahn’s “Masked,” in which a teen making masks for nursing home employees out of her prom dress discovers that the boy she’s been chatting with online is her favorite contestant on an American Idol–esque reality show. In “The Rules of Comedy” by Auriane Desombre, a lesbian teen tries to get the attention of her crush via TikTok but feels nervous about not being funny enough. Jennifer Yen’s charming tale, “Love With a Side of Fortune,” highlights a girl working at her family’s Chinese restaurant who’s been warned by a fortuneteller about a rocky path to love. The stories impeccably capture the teens’ fears, anger, and anxieties around the pandemic—including very real feelings about screen fatigue and uncertainty about the future—balanced by improbable but no less adorable meet-cutes and the sweetness of early getting-to-know-you attraction. The collection features a range of characters who are queer and people of color.
Sweet and comforting. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-37529-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION
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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
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’ life.
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Darius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him.
When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. He’s mocked for his name and nerdy interests at Chapel Hill High School in Portland, Oregon, and doesn’t speak enough Farsi to communicate with his Iranian relatives either. When he arrives in Iran, learning to play the Persian card game Rook, socializing, and celebrating Nowruz with a family he had never properly met before is all overwhelming and leaves Darius wondering if he’ll ever truly belong anywhere. But all that changes when Darius meets Sohrab, a Bahá’í boy, in Yazd. Sohrab teaches Darius what friendship is really about: loyalty, honesty, and someone who has your back in a football (soccer) match. For the first time in a long time, Darius learns to love himself no matter what external forces attempt to squash his confidence. Khorram’s debut novel is filled with insight into the lives of teens, weaving together the reality of living with mental illness while also dealing with identity and immigration politics.
This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’ life. (Fiction. 12-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-55296-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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