Love blooms between two independent, musically involved teens.
Vada and Luke have long admired one another from afar but finally begin talking during their senior year in high school in Ann Arbor. Each has family ties to the music world that both inspire and tether them, manifesting in their lives in different ways. Vada is determined to grow her music review writing into a career while British-born Luke has made a fierce decision to keep his talent and love for songwriting as something he only does for himself, which his former punk-rock-star dad can’t understand. Told in alternating first-person narration, the slow unfolding of this love story will be relished by teens who favor swooning romances. The palpable understanding of how music speaks to some people’s souls will ring true for serious music lovers—though references to various real-life artists both contemporary and older, from Demi Lovato to the duo’s reverence for Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, may not always resonate. Realistic and messy details about the complicated relationships imperfect adults have with their kids will likely ring true for a broader audience. All main characters are white. Luke’s twin brother, Cullen, is gay and happily coupled up with Luke’s best friend, Zack.
A character-driven story of first love and family drama replete with its own soundtrack. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-23164-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: tomorrow
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN ROMANCE
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BOOK REVIEW
Lara Jean prepares for college and a wedding.
Korean-American Lara Jean is finally settled into a nice, complication-free relationship with her white boyfriend, Peter. But things don’t stay simple for long. When college acceptance letters roll in, Peter and Lara Jean discover they’re heading in different directions. As the two discuss the long-distance thing, Lara Jean’s widower father is making a major commitment: marrying the neighbor lady he’s been dating. The whirlwind of a wedding, college visits, prom, and the last few months of senior year provides an excellent backdrop for this final book about Lara Jean. The characters ping from event to event with emotions always at the forefront. Han further develops her cast, pushing them to new maturity and leaving few stones unturned. There’s only one problem here, and it’s what’s always held this series back from true greatness: Peter. Despite Han’s best efforts to flesh out Peter with abandonment issues and a crummy dad, he remains little more than a handsome jock. Frankly, Lara Jean and Peter may have cute teen chemistry, but Han's nuanced characterizations have often helped to subvert typical teen love-story tropes. This knowing subversion is frustratingly absent from the novel's denouement.
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3048-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN ROMANCE | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Breaking away from Arthurian legends (The Winter Prince, 1993, etc.), Wein delivers a heartbreaking tale of friendship during World War II.
In a cell in Nazi-occupied France, a young woman writes. Like Scheherezade, to whom she is compared by the SS officer in charge of her case, she dribbles out information—“everything I can remember about the British War Effort”—in exchange for time and a reprieve from torture. But her story is more than a listing of wireless codes or aircraft types. Instead, she describes her friendship with Maddie, the pilot who flew them to France, as well as the real details of the British War Effort: the breaking down of class barriers, the opportunities, the fears and victories not only of war, but of daily life. She also describes, almost casually, her unbearable current situation and the SS officer who holds her life in his hands and his beleaguered female associate, who translates the narrative each day. Through the layers of story, characters (including the Nazis) spring to life. And as the epigraph makes clear, there is more to this tale than is immediately apparent. The twists will lead readers to finish the last page and turn back to the beginning to see how the pieces slot perfectly, unexpectedly into place.
A carefully researched, precisely written tour de force; unforgettable and wrenching. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4231-5219-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN HISTORICAL FICTION | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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