Brooding boys worth rooting for.
A grieving teen finds love again in an unexpected place.
About two years after his boyfriend, London Sanders, died in a terrible auto accident, August Clarke feels like a shadow of his former self. Instead of going to UC Santa Barbara like he’d planned, he’s working at a pizzeria. He’s even stopped writing songs. Luckily, August’s friend and apartment-mate, Maxine Cho, is a stable anchor amid the chaos. But that stability gets turned upside down when August meets Cary, a mysterious boy who keeps showing up whenever someone dies. The big reveal: Cary is a Deathless from a realm called Aides who escorts souls to their final resting place. When August follows Cary after one fateful encounter, he accidentally winds up in Aides too. Can he find London’s soul there? And, based on the way Cary keeps looking at him, does August even want to? August’s tight first-person narration alternates between the present day and before the accident. The prologue and epilogue cleverly show London’s perspective, which allows for a satisfying sense of closure. In this fresh riff on Greek mythology, Winters draws a memorable, racially diverse cast with multiple queer characters; August is Black, and Cary has pale gold skin. The worldbuilding is comfortingly familiar without being derivative, and the storytelling is compelling. But what really shines here is Winters’ wise take on grief, which manages to feel authentically messy while hopeful.
Brooding boys worth rooting for. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: tomorrow
ISBN: 9780593624456
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 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
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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