The intriguing paranormal twist keeps pages turning.
A girl lives two lives—literally—in this paranormal romance with a psychological twist.
Sabine is 18 in both of her lives. She lives with her financially struggling family in the Roxbury district of Boston half the time. At midnight every night she Shifts into her other life to live the same day over again with her wealthy family in upscale Wellesley. Sabine wants to live only one life, preferably in Wellesley with her friends and longtime perfect boyfriend, Dex, even though she realizes she isn’t in love with him. Suddenly, physical changes in one life no longer carry over into the other, and she decides to explore killing herself in her Roxbury life so she can live only her Wellesley life. Events go awry, however, and her parents, believing her to be mentally ill when she tells them the truth about her two lives, have her committed to a hospital. There, she meets Ethan, a medical student, to whom she begins to grow close. Shirvington keeps her interesting paranormal concept slightly vague: Does Sabine simply cross into a parallel universe, or does some other supernatural force cause her shifts? Could she simply be mentally ill? Sabine’s Roxbury life seems more interesting than the Wellesley one; it provides suspense, whereas the Wellesley story is more chick-lit friendly.
The intriguing paranormal twist keeps pages turning. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)Pub Date: July 22, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8027-3702-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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