Despite some issues, the novel opens important conversations about faith, family, independence, and identity.
When genderfluid Zo moves in next door to Libby and her evangelical Christian family in rural Tennessee, their unlikely friendship changes Libby’s life.
Libby, who has five younger siblings, has little exposure to life outside her family’s isolated home, where her father’s word is law. She’s prepared to fulfill her duty of marrying young and bearing children, even if she’s beginning to realize that’s not what she wants. Things change when Zo’s family moves into the neighborhood and the two teens strike up a friendship. Zo’s family, liberal and fully supportive of Zo’s genderfluidity, are the antithesis of Libby’s family. When Libby’s parents cease contact with their neighbors, Libby must decide whether to obey her parents or maintain her friendship. Crucially, neither teen attacks the other’s beliefs or way of life; instead, Zo gently challenges Libby’s teachings about a woman’s subservience. Although the somewhat stiff narration alternates between Libby’s and Zo’s perspectives, the story belongs to Libby as she questions what she’s been taught (“The only way I’ve ever been is the way I’ve been told to be”). Disappointingly, readers don’t gain much insight into Zo’s genderfluidity and are never introduced to Zo’s personal pronouns (Libby presumes she/her/hers). The primary cast assumes a white default except for Zo’s friend Claire, a Thai-American transgender girl.
Despite some issues, the novel opens important conversations about faith, family, independence, and identity. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-941110-66-9
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Three Rooms Press
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story.
Is an exuberant extended family the cure for a breakup? Sophie is about to find out.
When Sophie unexpectedly breaks up with her boyfriend, she isn’t thrilled about spending the holidays at her grandparents’ house instead of with him. And when her grandmother forms a plan to distract Sophie from her broken heart—10 blind dates, each set up by different family members—she’s even less thrilled. Everyone gets involved with the matchmaking, even forming a betting pool on the success of each date. But will Sophie really find someone to fill the space left by her ex? Will her ex get wind of Sophie’s dating spree via social media and want them to get back together? Is that what she even wants anymore? This is a fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family. The pace is quick and light, though the characters are fairly shallow and occasionally feel interchangeable, especially with so many names involved. A Christmas tale, the plot is a fast-paced series of dinners, parties, and games, relayed in both narrative form and via texts, though the humor occasionally feels stiff and overwrought. The ending is satisfying, though largely unsurprising. Most characters default to white as members of Sophie’s Italian American extended family, although one of her cousins has a Filipina mother. One uncle is gay.
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02749-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway.
Stephanie and her family move into an old mansion rumored to have been put under a curse after a turn-of-the-20th-century rich boy meddled with an Egyptian mummy.
After her young sister complains about strange events, high school student Stephanie befriends Lucas, a geeky, good-looking boy, and meets the other members of SPOoKy, the Scientific Paranormal Organization of Kentucky: Charlotte, Wes, and Patrick. Stephanie learns the history of her new home from Lucas, who attracts her romantic attention, but the usually levelheaded girl is soon drawn to Erik, the handsome phantom who first comes to her in dreams. The story is told in chapters narrated by Stephanie, Lucas, and Zedok, whose identity is initially a source of confusion to Stephanie. Zedok appears wearing different masks, “personified slivers” of his soul, representing states of mind such as Wrath, Madness, and Valor. Meanwhile, until gifted singer Stephanie came along and he could write songs for her, Erik’s dreams were thwarted; he wanted to be a composer but his family expected him to become a doctor. In the gothic horror tradition, Erik’s full background and connection with Zedok are slowly revealed. Romantic dream sequences are lush and swoon-y, but the long, drawn-out battle to end the curse, aided by a celebrity clairvoyant, is tedious, and the constant introduction of Erik’s different personae is confusing. Most characters default to White; Patrick is Black.
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway. (Horror. 13-16)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11604-3
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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