A light paranormal story centering on a sweet queer romance and teens navigating big changes.
A ghost hunter finds more than she ever expected.
With her plans to leave her small Washington town on the fringes of Seattle in shambles, 18-year-old Cara Weaver puts all her hopes into her YouTube channel, “Caranormal Activity.” She heads to a local abandoned paper mill, the site of many tragedies, including as recently as last year, when high school senior Aiden Reyes fell to his death. To Cara’s utter shock, Aiden can communicate with her (and her alone), manifesting as a whispered voice in her ear. But she needs more proof than that to validate her discovery. Aiden, however, wants to focus on what he believes is his ghostly “unfinished business”: helping Meredith, his younger sister, be happy again by having Cara take her to prom. This scenario fortunately manages never to dip too far into manipulative territory, and when it looks like it might, other characters (for example, Cara’s Christian best friend, who’s in on the scheme) thankfully call it out. Meredith and Cara’s intense sexual attraction for one another does a lot of the heavy lifting for their rapidly developing relationship. The novel explores the spiritual at times, but only in passing. Solid pacing will keep the pages turning, and readers will be drawn into the girls' love story. Cara, who’s bisexual, reads white; Meredith is gay, and she and her brother are cued Latine.
A light paranormal story centering on a sweet queer romance and teens navigating big changes. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781250869760
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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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