A fast-paced and emotionally resonant enemies-to-more ghost story.
A pair of ghost nemeses in upstate New York join forces to investigate who murdered them.
Tessa Sinclair and Reed Walker have been rivals since the sixth grade. So it stings a little that Reed, whose family is from Spain, has been named valedictorian, while Tessa, who looks “like Billie Eilish before her glow-up,” is salutatorian. Some seniors decide to celebrate by breaking into the abandoned van der Born mansion and partying. There, the duo plays a drinking game and actually have fun despite the fact that they’re still bickering. But when they come to the next morning, they realize that they’re not only still in the mansion, but they’re no longer alive. In fact, they’re ghosts, trapped together. What could be worse? Realizing that they were murdered. As Tessa and Reed rally to overcome their long-standing disdain, they discover that they’re kindred spirits. They must also cope with their grief while they try to find out who’s responsible for their deaths before the killer strikes again. They face a countdown timer that indicates that they have 22 days left before their time in this spectral state is up and they must move on. Told from the leads’ alternating perspectives, this charming mystery incorporates séances, paranormal activity, and time travel. It’s also a tender love story, exploring not just the feelings that develop between Tessa and Reed but the love they have for people who are still alive.
A fast-paced and emotionally resonant enemies-to-more ghost story. (Supernatural romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9781250404176
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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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