A sweet, character-focused summer romance that’s full of heart and hope.
A driven 18-year-old from London spends the summer in a small Cornish village and learns that slowing down can still get her where she wants to go.
Anna had it all—a prestigious law firm internship, a perfect boyfriend, Max, and plans to attend a top university in the fall. But when she freezes up during her exams, the internship falls through, and Max dumps her, despite all their carefully laid-out plans for their future, Anna’s only option is to accept her aunt’s offer of summer employment at the Wildest Dreams Bookshop. Anna travels to Fox Bay, ready to make the best of things and find her way back to her dreams. But when she arrives, she quickly gets off on the wrong foot with Jacob, the local boy her aunt sent to collect her from the train station. At the bookstore, Anna is greeted enthusiastically by Aunt Josie and Pushkin the cat. As she gets to know the village, Anna finds a new friend in Raye, the other bookshop employee, and is charmed by the eccentric locals. Fox Bay—itself a character—brings out Anna’s best qualities, and she exhibits subtle and well-paced development. Fox Bay’s inhabitants shine as instigators of change, who help Anna on her path, and the romantic tension between Anna and Jacob crackles. Main characters read white.
A sweet, character-focused summer romance that’s full of heart and hope. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063479012
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Avon A/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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