Fails to deliver on its intriguing premise.
Young adults on death row compete on a reality show, seeking the prize of freedom.
Eternity Price hates God. She blames Him for everything that’s gone wrong in her life, starting with Dad’s death when she was 6 and Momma’s death when she was 12. Eternity and her younger brother, Sincere, moved in with Nana, their verbally abusive grandmother. Now, at 18, Eternity is on death row. She sees three ways to get out: “the legal stuff, run, or fight.” Appeals may take 20 years or more, and for a fat Black girl in Texas, fleeing doesn’t seem like a realistic option. Eternity decides to fight by applying to be on Last Chance LIVE!, a show that gives 10 contestants between the ages of 18 and 21 the chance to win their freedom. Viewers across America vote each week, and the eliminated contestants’ death sentences are expedited. Eternity thinks the risk is worth it, and she’s determined to win at any cost. Eternity and the other characters accurately represent the socioeconomic status and racial demographics in U.S. prisons. Unfortunately, this debut’s flat character development limits the story’s emotional resonance. The pacing is slow, and due to the amount of time the contestants are confined to their rooms, the novel becomes repetitive. The rousing and informative author’s note is excellent and will invite introspection and reflection, however.
Fails to deliver on its intriguing premise. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593625309
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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
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