As the setup and storyline will be thoroughly impenetrable to readers new to the series, this trilogy conclusion has an...
With hostility among Heart’s oldsouls toward newly born, unreincarnated children increasing, original newsoul Ana leads a revolution (Asunder, 2013, etc.).
Ana now knows that the virtual immortality of the people of Heart has come at the cost of countless souls that will never be born. Together with two staunch friends, she and boyfriend Sam journey to dragon country, where Ana hopes to find help in their upcoming final battle against the godlike being behind Heart’s atrocity. Ana’s difficult negotiations with an uber-prickly dragon are a real highlight. Unfortunately, they are too few when compared to the page-filling trek through the wilderness, where snow falls constantly but never seems to accumulate. During the journey, Ana and Sam experience the genre’s now–de rigueur estrangement of affection due to an utterly artificial misunderstanding. Though this serves to minimize the pages-long swoony clinches also demanded by the genre, it will irritate readers. An attempt to buttress the series’ worldbuilding with a couple of laughably inadequate paragraphs is too little, too late. Most problematic, though, is a climactic maneuver in which Ana, Sam and Meadows seem to have their cake and eat it too; the conclusion is both confusing and morally ambiguous, to say the least.
As the setup and storyline will be thoroughly impenetrable to readers new to the series, this trilogy conclusion has an audience only in the first two books’ most avid fans. (Dystopian fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-206081-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A classic rags-to-riches romantic comedy with irresistible chemistry and heart.
A surprise inheritance thrusts a small-town Nebraska teen into Manhattan’s elite society—and the orbit of a boy who’s determined to prove she doesn’t belong.
Julia Lowell’s life changes overnight when the 80-something man they know as Lou leaves his fortune to her family instead of his New York City relatives. Lou, who lived in a fishing cabin, was a regular customer of the Lowells’ small grocery store and became a family friend. To inherit, they must live in his Upper West Side home for at least six months, and Julia and her twin brother must attend Gardenwood Academy, a Gossip Girl–esque private school. Julia struggles to navigate her rude, privileged classmates—like Damion Rutledge. Unbeknownst to her, Lou—whose real name was Remington—was Damion’s beloved great-uncle. When a teacher assigns Damion to be Julia’s math tutor, he seizes the opportunity to search Uncle Remi’s house, which he believes is his by right, for evidence of the Lowells’ deceit. But as suspicion gives way to genuine feelings, Julia and Damion, who are cued white, question their assumptions about one another. Painter delivers her signature blend of banter, slow-burn chemistry, and emotionally grounded characters. Told in the leads’ alternating points of view, the familiar enemies-to-lovers setup is complicated by Damion’s secret and Julia’s past heartbreak. While the story follows a predictable path and resolution, the central relationship feels earned and heartfelt.
A classic rags-to-riches romantic comedy with irresistible chemistry and heart. (soundtrack) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9798347100217
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
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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