by Jenna Evans Welch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 10, 2020
A summery, romantic getaway.
Recurring nightmares remind Olive—who has carved out a new, post-dad identity as Liv—about why she doesn’t talk about her father anymore.
The symbolism of dreaming about drowning while searching for the lost city of Atlantis, a mission her father, Nico Varanakis, has dedicated his life to, is impossible to ignore. His kitschy postcards, which suddenly started arriving two years ago, only make her feel worse. His latest is an invitation to visit him in Greece, and she is quick to decline. But at her mother’s insistence that she try to reconnect with him, Liv finds herself in beautiful Santorini, joining her father’s filmmaking crew and sharing a bunk in a bookstore with his assistant, Theo—a Greek teenager who charms her instantly. They are working on a documentary detailing Nico’s Atlantean theories for National Geographic, an endeavor Liv finds both exciting and panic-inducing. Her recounting throughout of the 26 items her father left behind when he walked away from their family, and which Liv secreted in a shoebox under her bed, provides insight into his imprint on her memory, but their impending reconciliation requires a deeper dive and Liv has always stayed at the surface when it comes to Nico. The search for Atlantis and information about Greek philosophers add interest to the sweet, if at times predictable, story. There is a little diversity among the non-Greek supporting cast.
A summery, romantic getaway. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4883-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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by Stephanie Garber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 2021
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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by Jerry Spinelli ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 3, 2021
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.
For two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience.
On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior—and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery—not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. Characters follow a White default.
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30667-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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