The funeral twist makes for an interesting and unusual romance.
This high school romance comes with a twist, as the protagonist’s family lives in and runs a funeral home.
Gabriella is 16 and has only one friend, her bestie, Bree, who works with Gabe applying makeup to the corpses. But Bree soon starts dating Bryce, a good-looking but crass football player who has taunted Gabe for years. Gabe cannot understand why Bree has abandoned their friendship to spend so much time with him. Meanwhile, Gabe meets Hartman, a new student in their school. Hartman confesses to being just as much of a nerd as is Gabe, but both are too awkward to move their relationship forward. Nevertheless, Hartman keeps turning up at the funeral home, trying to cope with his father’s recent death. As Gabe becomes ever more frustrated with Bree’s inattention, she and Hartman finally begin to break the ice. But when Bree wants Gabe to drive her party to the prom in a hearse, things begin to go wrong. Through Gabe’s present-tense narration, Perry emphasizes her protagonist’s distress over losing her only friend as well as her newfound interest in romance with Hartman. She does her best to navigate her “Graveyard Gabby” image—she’s even bought into it with her cultivated Wednesday Addams image, an endearing quirk—but her understandable sense that life is fleeting hampers her ability to grow. Perry’s cast is a predominantly white one.
The funeral twist makes for an interesting and unusual romance. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8075-2532-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
Shocking yet bittersweet, this captivating page-turner truly delivers.
Teens fight to survive a harrowing boat expedition in Mexico.
High school seniors Hannah and Emmy couldn’t be more different: After graduation, steady and staid Hannah plans to enter Linfield University and work toward a nursing degree, while impulsive Emmy aims to fulfill a longtime dream of traveling the world. As graduation looms, the girls take a spring break trip to Puerto Vallarta along with Emmy’s parents and college-age brother, Jackson. When Emmy meets the handsome and smarmy Ben, the four young people head out—at Ben’s insistence—on an ill-advised boat trip with the sketchy hipster captain, Keith, on his weathered craft, the Be-Yacht-Ch. A day of Instagram-perfect partying quickly devolves into something else. While a series of predicted storms, which led other boat tours to cancel outings, threatens the group, secrets and accusations drive a deadly wedge into an already fraught situation. As romantic feelings simmer between Hannah and Jackson and Ben’s sinister psychopathy emerges, the teens are left to fight for their lives. Reading like a YA White Lotus seen through a Freida McFadden–tinted lens, this work will satisfy Lally’s fans, who will revel in the jaw-dropping twists and rapid-fire pacing alongside the subtle commentary on toxic masculinity, entitlement, and privilege. Each chapter ends on a pulse-pounding cliffhanger, adding to the already unrelenting tension. Even the most seasoned thriller readers will be surprised by the tense and emotional ending. Apart from the Mexican locals, characters present white.
Shocking yet bittersweet, this captivating page-turner truly delivers. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781728270173
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
