Though it’s lengthy, romance-loving readers familiar with the original will find much to enjoy here.
A very long reimagined contemporary retelling of “The Snow Queen,” rather plodding and point-for-point, but with some lovely language.
There’s a prologue (though not with a troll) of the memories of Kai’s grandmother Dalia’s past. In the present, the story is told by Ginny, who lives across from Kai and loves him. It is snowing, hard, in Atlanta in October. A cold, beautiful girl named Mora appears as Dalia dies and takes Kai away from his future as a violinist and from Ginny. She follows, driving from Atlanta to Nashville, in snow that is not natural but created by Mora, the Snow Queen. (Readers get far more of Mora’s back story then they really need.) Guided by Grandma Dalia’s book of recipes and spells, Ginny meets up with a savvy beauty queen and her werewolf-hunting husband in Tennessee and then with a group of Travellers in Kentucky. (The red shoes of the original tale, here a pair of high heels, connect the beauty queen and Flannery, the Travellers’ Princess of Kentucky.) Pearce is at her best when she is describing Ginny psyching herself to do what must be done and recalling kisses. (She’s very good with kissing.)
Though it’s lengthy, romance-loving readers familiar with the original will find much to enjoy here. (Urban fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-316-24359-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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