This thoroughly enjoyable read is a seductive invitation to relax and let life happen.
Future millionaire Briggs Henry has his course mapped (law degree and MBA) until an eventful summer as live-in caretaker and handyman for an elderly Serbian widow in a Lake Michigan resort town upends his plans and the bedrock assumptions they rest on.
The white teen has learned to work hard and aim high, to adopt his dad’s relentlessly upbeat demeanor, always remembering that “failure is not an option.” (His hardworking mother mostly keeps her views to herself.) Only grim Grandma Ruth, his dad’s mother, makes time to attend Briggs’ baseball games (until the bottom of the third inning). Rooted in a stressful past, the family work ethic and mandatory optimism take a toll on Briggs. They've cost him his girlfriend and given him digestive troubles. Now, between chores for eccentric Mrs. B., his new employer, and escorting her to funerals, he succumbs to laid-back, resort-town life and to Abigail, an intriguing white neighbor who questions his goals and expectations of success. Life is unpredictable, she knows; events beyond our control can change everything. All we have is now. Relinquishing his grip on what lies ahead allows Briggs to appreciate this truth—it’s an ability he’ll soon need. Observant, sarcastic, compelling, and very funny, narrator Briggs is entirely convincing and—ably abetted by an abundance of diverse characters—never less than good company.
This thoroughly enjoyable read is a seductive invitation to relax and let life happen. (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: July 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8037-4052-5
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Some may give it a standing ovation, though others will remain seated.
In this second, stand-alone book in the Flirt series, a teenager is thrilled when she gets the lead in a school play—until she realizes who her co-star is.
The big event in the sophomore class is the Renaissance faire, in which everyone participates in a wide variety of roles. Abbey discovers she’s won the coveted lead in the big production, playing opposite the handsome, popular Jason, whom, alas, she sees as arrogant and shallow. But worse, some transgression he committed at the school dance seriously haunts Abbey, and the textual implication is that the act was truly egregious. Then readers find out: She overheard him telling a buddy that he thought Abbey was boring. Really? But the second and third rubs are worthy of worry: As Abbey gets to know Jason, she realizes she’s smitten—and her best friend, Olivia, has a serious crush on him. Though many teenage characters are drama queens, Abbey’s eternal disquietude grows wearisome, and readers may find themselves wishing she would just chill. Balancing this is her sensitivity toward Olivia. Though the writing offers nothing truly original—readers must put up with many a cliché—the narrative flies, Abbey’s navigation of her burgeoning relationship is compelling, and the triangular love plot will be appealing, as well as achingly familiar to many.
Some may give it a standing ovation, though others will remain seated. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8404-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
Both hopeful and careful—like Francesca herself.
Four years after her younger brother, Simon, drowned in the ocean, Francesca Schnell meets a child she thinks might be his reincarnation.
Maybe everything happens for a reason. Following the woman with whom she suspects her father is having an affair leads Francesca to a country club where she meets—and rescues from an ill-advised dive into a pool—4-year-old Frankie Schyler. As she gets to know “Frankie Sky” and his kind but inattentive mother, Francesca begins to see connections between Frankie and her own brother and to wonder if there is a spiritual explanation for the similarities between the two. Unfortunately—or is it fortunately after all?—the only person Francesca can talk to about reincarnation is her best friend Lisette’s very charming, very taken boyfriend, Bradley. And there’s nobody, really, with whom Francesca can share her deepest secret: Simon’s death was Francesca’s fault. This is a quiet story about miracles and relationships, and Francesca has something to learn from each person whose life touches hers—even the neighbor her father keeps visiting on the sly. The prose is gentle but evocative, and Frankie Sky’s childlike exuberance and occasional misconceptions add heart and humor. Some long-standing family conflicts are resolved very quickly, but the story never comes off as saccharine or simplistic.
Both hopeful and careful—like Francesca herself. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61620-256-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
