In the end, readers will have the feeling they’ve read this story before, and it was much better the first time around.
A young man loses the love of his life.
Matt Wainwright has pined for his best friend, Tabby Laughlin, for years but has never struck up the nerve to tell her how he feels. Instead he seethes with jealousy when Tabby begins to date the big man on campus, Liam Branson. There’s friction between the two best friends for a bit, but just when things are starting to look up, tragedy strikes. The novel is startlingly similar to John Green’s Looking for Alaska, with lost loves, car crashes, and wise teachers. Even more startling is the novels’ mirrored structures: both take place over a school year and end with an essay written by the young man for a class taught by an inspiring teacher. The cherry on top of this comparable sundae is the fact that both books feature paragraphs in which the protagonist contemplates how long an instant death feels. Reck’s debut is competently written, but the ruminations don’t run as deep as Green’s. The tertiary characters don’t sparkle, spouting serviceable but unremarkable dialogue, and there’s little attempt to introduce diversity to the largely white cast.
In the end, readers will have the feeling they’ve read this story before, and it was much better the first time around. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1607-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Romance, humor, kindhearted characters, and a touch of painful reality make this another sure bet for Dessen fans.
Louna finds her cynicism about romance challenged when her family’s wedding business hires Ambrose.
After years facing brides with cold feet and badly behaved wedding guests, Louna has become skeptical about romance and plans on remaining single during her last summer before college. Luckily, the busy wedding schedule provides plenty of legitimate excuses for Louna to avoid opportunities to meet potential dates. That changes when satisfying a particularly fussy bridal party requires hiring the bride’s brother, Ambrose. He’s a lady’s man who typically charms more than one potential date during every social gathering. But he professes honesty about his dating motivations, expresses genuine interest in his dates, and displays a sort of oddly enchanting “aw, shucks” dismissal of his ability to reel in girls. Louna’s outwardly dismayed by his antics, but his clichéd (but adorable) gestures, such as impulsively adopting a rescue dog, begin to win her over. However, Louna’s still tormented by the unexpected death of her first love. Flashbacks to their relationship combined with the way she reluctantly accepts the need to move forward too provide a bittersweet counterpoint to the traditional rom-com storyline. Louna’s lovingly depicted gay godfather provides a bit of diversity in the otherwise apparently straight, white cast.
Romance, humor, kindhearted characters, and a touch of painful reality make this another sure bet for Dessen fans. (Romance. 12-16)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-425-29033-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Fans of boy bands will be on this like tattoos on Harry Styles' chest.
It's been hard for Stella to concentrate on her life since her sister Cara was diagnosed with leukemia.
Cara is gaga for the Heartbreakers, a hot four-boy band, but Stella thinks they are all fluff and no talent. Nonetheless, to surprise Cara for her birthday, Stella and their brother Drew (they’re triplets) decide to drive overnight to attend the band's autograph signing. Upon arriving, bleary-eyed Stella hits a Starbucks, where a cute and sweetly flirty, blue-eyed boy strikes up a conversation. When Stella struggles to find money to pay, he plunks down $20 and leaves. Stella and Drew wait hours in line for Cara's autographs, but the band packs up right before they reach them—but not before Stella realizes that lead singer Oliver Perry is the boy from the coffee shop. One hotheaded encounter later, a relationship is born. Stella becomes conflicted about her feelings for Oliver; how can she justify thinking about him while her sister suffers? Novak creates a titillating tension between her leads; one moment, they're simpatico, the next, they're one cog tooth off. The predictable but pleasant romance offers touching moments as well as band high jinks featuring Jell-O and Silly String.
Fans of boy bands will be on this like tattoos on Harry Styles' chest. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4926-1256-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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