Enjoy it while it’s fresh.
Secrets simmer in the summer heat in Spotswood’s (The Radical Element, 2018, etc.) beach read.
The four redheaded Garrett girls are the well-known orphans of Remington Hollow, Maryland. In a town so small that everyone knows everyone, struggles are kept hidden below the surface. Nineteen-year-old eldest sister Des feels left behind, struggling with self-imposed obligations to care for her younger siblings and the family legacy. Next in line is Bea, 18, who has just graduated from high school and realizes that the life she planned for herself is no longer the life she wants. Rising junior Kat has a flare for the dramatic but begins to learn that a life lived authentically might be more fulfilling. Youngest sister Vi, 15, has been living as an out lesbian but hopes this summer may bring the young love she has yet to experience outside of her YA romances—especially when she develops a crush on beautiful Latina Cece. Narrative focus shifts between chapters to highlight the perspectives of individual sisters, with notes of Little Women and a dash of Gilmore Girls. Frequent references to contemporary young adult literature, especially in bookish Vi’s chapters, require an audience steeped in the genre, while references to current pop culture limit the time range of the appeal. Though the characters are endearing and the plot entertaining, the fleeting trendiness makes this a one-summer wonder.
Enjoy it while it’s fresh. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-2219-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
Disappointing.
Unlikely friends fight their growing feelings for each other while placing bets on other people’s love lives.
Bailey met Charlie while flying from Alaska, where she grew up, to Nebraska, where she and her mom would be living after her parents’ divorce. Although they briefly bonded over their parents’ divorces, Charlie’s cynicism grated on the rule-following Bailey, and she was thankful to part ways with him. Three years later, to Bailey’s dismay, she runs into Charlie when they both land jobs at Planet Funnn, a mega-hotel that’s “like a giant landlocked cruise ship.” This time around, Bailey and Charlie begin to get along better. To entertain themselves during their long shifts, they observe and make bets about the hotel guests. But they risk taking it too far when they bet on whether their co-worker Theo will end up with Nekesa, Bailey’s best friend, who’s in “a perfect relationship with the perfect guy.” The book explores Bailey’s conflicted feelings toward her mom’s new relationship with Scott (who doesn’t “do anything wrong” but whose presence changes “the vibe” at home), but it does so in a way that diminishes a primary source of conflict. Bailey's and Charlie’s feelings become even more complicated when Charlie helps Bailey with a fake-dating scheme intended to scare Scott off. Some of the banter between the leads, who are coded white, feels more aggressive than playful, detracting from their intimacy, and the circuitous plot may fail to sustain readers’ interest.
Disappointing. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781665921237
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
A powerful tale of found family and first love.
After a year away, Ellis returns home to confront her past.
Graduating from high school far from everything familiar was not part of Ellis Truman’s original plans, but she nevertheless ended up spending her senior year with her aunt in California. In Indiana, Ellis practically grew up with the Albrey family and their three tightknit sons, Dixon, Tucker, and Easton. Now, Tucker wants her to return home for matriarch Sandry Albrey’s 50th birthday celebration on the Fourth of July—but Ellis is dreading seeing Easton, as they haven’t talked since she left. Chapters alternate between past and present, and much of the story unravels slowly: How did she come to live with the Albreys? What caused Ellis to then end up in San Diego? What happened in her relationship with Easton? Patient readers will find the heartfelt tension pays off. With her father in and out of jail and an absent mother, socio-economic differences separating Ellis from the middle-class Albreys don’t go unnoticed, and Ellis’ down-to-earth journey shows how she unpacks her feelings about her relationship with her parents. The slow-build romance is swoonworthy, and young adult fans of Colleen Hoover seeking emotional devastation and unforgettable characters will find much to enjoy here. Characters read as White.
A powerful tale of found family and first love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-308853-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
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