A charming romance about gaming, baking, and finding yourself after heartbreak.
When Toronto gamer nerd Samaya meets hockey jock Daniel, sparks fly—but will Samaya’s desire for revenge ruin her happily-ever-after?
After Samaya Janmohammad’s boyfriend, Devin Kapadia, dumps her and sabotages her summer plans, she begins senior year unsure how to get back on track as a top student. When her guidance counselor suggests completing her community service hours by helping with a bake sale to support a family shelter, she meets Daniel Ramos, an athlete with a penchant for baking. When Samaya sees a chance to get back at Devin by proving she’s moved on, she and Daniel make a fake-dating pact: She’ll tutor him in calculus, and he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend. But as Samaya teaches Daniel to be the perfect gamer-nerd boyfriend, and he teaches her how to bake, their relationship begins to feel like it might not be so fake anymore. Heron keeps their sweet romance interesting—Samaya is a perfectly flawed character who eventually realizes her privilege and grows; Daniel, the always smiling loyal hunk with a heartbreaking past, feels a little too perfect, however. Samaya’s Indian grandparents emigrated from Nairobi and are Ismaili Muslim; Devin’s Hindu parents are from Mumbai, and Daniel is Filipino Canadian. Readers familiar with Heron’s 2021 novel, Tahira in Bloom, which centered Samaya’s older sister, will enjoy spending more time with the Janmohammad family.
A charming romance about gaming, baking, and finding yourself after heartbreak. (recipe) (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5420-3608-5
Page Count: 350
Publisher: Skyscape
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
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
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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