Fast-paced, cinematic action paired with a heartfelt love story.
A teen girl breaks the gender barrier to join the ranks of superheroes and battles to save the world.
In Comerford’s duology opener, The Love Interest (2024), Jenna Ray discovered she’d acquired the ability to control water and exposed King Ron, the corrupt head of the British Heroics and Power Authority. But there are many in the media who think he should still be in charge. The new head of the HPA, Mia (who uses they/them pronouns), is determined to improve the organization, starting with recruiting Jenna as “the first female hero.” However, when Jenna has a terrifying incident in which she loses control of her powers and causes catastrophic damage, Ron reaches out to her from prison, claiming that she’s being possessed by the EV, a force that powers all the heroes, and only he can help her. This entry introduces a range of new heroes from around the world, who join the well-drawn cast of central characters and add depth to the worldbuilding. Jenna’s forbidden to date a fellow hero per the HPA rules, making her relationship with Laurie Lin aka Blaze—the boy who rescued her, putting her in the public eye—humorously complicated. The nonstop action is incredibly fun, and clever jokes combined with swoony, tender moments between Laurie and Jenna make this adventure a real page-turner. Jenna is Black, and the earlier book established Laurie as Chinese and white.
Fast-paced, cinematic action paired with a heartfelt love story. (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781547617234
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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