Whittled down to a stand-alone, this might have been a classic of so-bad-it’s-goodness. Instead, the series ends as it...
Supernatural and real-life drama collide in a revenge fantasy run amok.
Once again, readers will find themselves on Jar Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, in the company of (mostly) moneyed youth with little more to do than foment drama among themselves. Once again, the not-so-well-laid plans of ritzy (but good-hearted!) Lillia Cho and rough-around-the-edges (but good-hearted!) Kat DeBrassio will go awry. Once again, readers will wonder, what is going on with Mary Zane? What’s going on is she’s dead, and she has been all along, her spirit trapped on Jar Island and bent on exacting vengeance against Reeve, whom she blames for her suicide years ago. Why did she wait so long for revenge? Why don’t Lillia and Kat try harder to find her or discuss the strange things they’re noticing, and how do they suddenly become expert spell-casters when it’s time to fight back? This trilogy has had readers pondering the differences between a read so bad it’s good and one that is merely lamentably bad. The former includes clichéd characters, predictable plotlines and clunky dialogue, but it also possesses a spirit of insouciance, a joie de vivre that propels readers breathlessly on. In short, it is a fun page-turner. The latter is a slog.
Whittled down to a stand-alone, this might have been a classic of so-bad-it’s-goodness. Instead, the series ends as it began: a tedious, overstuffed mess. (Paranormal suspense. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4081-4
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues...
He’s in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs. She’s fighting the brown fluid in her lungs caused by tumors. Both know that their time is limited.
Sparks fly when Hazel Grace Lancaster spies Augustus “Gus” Waters checking her out across the room in a group-therapy session for teens living with cancer. He’s a gorgeous, confident, intelligent amputee who always loses video games because he tries to save everyone. She’s smart, snarky and 16; she goes to community college and jokingly calls Peter Van Houten, the author of her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, her only friend besides her parents. He asks her over, and they swap novels. He agrees to read the Van Houten and she agrees to read his—based on his favorite bloodbath-filled video game. The two become connected at the hip, and what follows is a smartly crafted intellectual explosion of a romance. From their trip to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive Van Houten to their hilariously flirty repartee, readers will swoon on nearly every page. Green’s signature style shines: His carefully structured dialogue and razor-sharp characters brim with genuine intellect, humor and desire. He takes on Big Questions that might feel heavy-handed in the words of any other author: What do oblivion and living mean? Then he deftly parries them with humor: “My nostalgia is so extreme that I am capable of missing a swing my butt never actually touched.” Dog-earing of pages will no doubt ensue.
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus’ poignant journey. (Fiction. 15 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-525-47881-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet and healing.
In this follow-up to Some Girls Do (2021), Ruby and Morgan try to maintain a long-distance relationship—but it forces them to face the question of what matters most to them.
The girls are still very much in love with each other, but as Morgan heads into her second semester of college four hours’ drive from their hometown where Ruby is studying automotive technical sciences at the community college, they face challenges. They’re starting to dread all the additional hurdles that make it so difficult to see one another, from busy schedules to transportation issues. As the semester progresses, new obstacles emerge, like a chance for Ruby to compete on the reality TV show Mastermind Mechanics over spring break and the possibility of a summer internship for Morgan. Both opportunities sound perfect on paper, but they would mean even more time apart for the couple. Ultimately, the girls must decide whether these dreams are worth putting their relationship on hold for—or if they can try to have it all. The long inner monologues at times slow the narrative, but the alternating first-person point-of-view chapters offer a complex view of relationship challenges. Ruby’s arcs with her mother and stepfather are especially touching and well-developed. The narrative includes enough context that it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone. Morgan, who’s a lesbian, and Ruby, who’s “attracted to every gender,” both present white.
Sweet and healing. (Romance. 15-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9798217112555
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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