A teen road trip packed with music and drama. There’s plenty here to both love and hate.
Wes and Corey are haters. They are obsessed with music and even more obsessed with finding the reasons why everything they encounter falls short of greatness.
At jazz camp they meet fellow hater Ash, an intriguing, guitar-playing, older girl. They form a band and then proceed to make a series of dumb decisions that range in severity from bad to awful as they ditch camp to search for the perfect gig. It quickly becomes clear that this tour is a pressure cooker in which everyone’s ugliest traits will appear and start wreaking havoc. The banter among the three is often grating, laden with sexual frustration, dick jokes, and musical one-upmanship. Each of the three is pampered with privilege, yet something is awry. Ash is stupendously rich, the daughter of a Brazilian billionaire and a French model, both absentee. Wes was adopted from Venezuela by white, Buddhist parents who don’t make him the center of their universe. Corey is white and Jewish with overattentive musician parents who sometimes can’t pay all the bills. Though there are some truly hilarious scenes (such as Wes’ biting observations about the awkward ways in which well-meaning white people want to talk about race or his internal, self-scathing dialogue while high), other attempts at humor, such as casual jokes about suicide bombing and rape-y behavior, while believable as adolescent banter, strike the wrong chord.
A teen road trip packed with music and drama. There’s plenty here to both love and hate. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2078-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments.
Lara Jean prepares for college and a wedding.
Korean-American Lara Jean is finally settled into a nice, complication-free relationship with her white boyfriend, Peter. But things don’t stay simple for long. When college acceptance letters roll in, Peter and Lara Jean discover they’re heading in different directions. As the two discuss the long-distance thing, Lara Jean’s widower father is making a major commitment: marrying the neighbor lady he’s been dating. The whirlwind of a wedding, college visits, prom, and the last few months of senior year provides an excellent backdrop for this final book about Lara Jean. The characters ping from event to event with emotions always at the forefront. Han further develops her cast, pushing them to new maturity and leaving few stones unturned. There’s only one problem here, and it’s what’s always held this series back from true greatness: Peter. Despite Han’s best efforts to flesh out Peter with abandonment issues and a crummy dad, he remains little more than a handsome jock. Frankly, Lara Jean and Peter may have cute teen chemistry, but Han's nuanced characterizations have often helped to subvert typical teen love-story tropes. This knowing subversion is frustratingly absent from the novel's denouement.
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3048-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A welcome hit into the outfield of books about queer athletes.
A closeted teen steps up to the plate for a cute boy—and himself.
After jocks ridicule and knock over his history class presentation, freshman Jonah picks up the pieces. Cute classmate Elliot helps. That small act of kindness makes sparks fly, cuing confusing feelings. Jonah decides to join the baseball team to get closer to Elliot—even if it means enduring more bullying from the other teammates. But Coach Jackson sees Jonah’s athletic potential and takes him under his wing. As the plot follows the four baseball seasons until Jonah’s graduation, Jonah slowly goes from laughingstock to star. But does he ever truly fit in? Cartoonist and editor Newman’s semiautobiographical graphic novel debut is a heartfelt tale of self-discovery. Consolidating all four years of high school into one book makes for a quick pace. Clever paneling and nearly wordless sequences effectively pump the brakes for key moments—and show glimpses of Jonah’s wild imagination. Despite the rampant bro culture and homophobia of the aughts setting, multiple queer characters of all ages at various stages of coming out add an important sense of community and possibility. A subplot about a female teammate briefly touches on sexism. Though the ensemble cast is diverse in skin tone, the majority of the main cast present white; Coach Jackson is Black.
A welcome hit into the outfield of books about queer athletes. (author’s note, process notes, resources) (Graphic fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9781524884826
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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