A heartwarming, strongly characterized romance in which being truly seen for who you are is the greatest prize of all.
A Massachusetts 18-year-old embarks on a theme park scavenger hunt in hopes of rewriting her future.
After graduation, Lia Baker and her two best friends, Tess and Issy, decide to celebrate by heading to Florida’s Fableland for the Superfan Scavenger Hunt. The winner gets a $50,000 prize and lifetime free park access. Lia hopes to use the money to escape from her mom’s hovering anxiety and her stifling job at her parents’ furniture store. As a fat girl, she dreams of creating body-positive stories. To ensure her success, she forms an alliance with hot fellow contestant Mason. However, as the competition builds, so do the tensions between Lia and her friends—who will soon be going away to college, making Lia feel left behind—and even between Lia and Mason. The characters’ complexities and growth over the course of the story are real strengths; as they navigate challenges, Mason and Lia’s developing romance is moving and inspiring, and their relationships with their families are fleshed out too. Structuring the story around the scavenger hunt helps maintain a sense of urgency that keeps the interest level high. In her YA debut, Howe presents readers with a strong protagonist in Lia, who challenges societal fatphobia in realistic ways. Central characters are cued white, except for Issy, who’s Puerto Rican. Tess is queer.
A heartwarming, strongly characterized romance in which being truly seen for who you are is the greatest prize of all. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 22, 2025
ISBN: 9780593809105
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
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