A sweet, undemanding summer read.
The summer before her senior year, 17-year-old Avery unexpectedly finds romance on a family vacation.
Avery’s family spends their summers away from Los Angeles, enjoying the outdoors; this year it will be two months at a remote resort in the California woods. Her 15-year-old sister, Lauren, an outgoing video blogger, is distraught by the camp’s lack of internet access while go-with-the-flow Avery is just hoping for no drama, upset after having found out her best friend kissed her ex-boyfriend. An initial miscommunication makes things tense with handsome camp staff member Brooks—until Avery agrees to help him write songs for a band competition in exchange for his helping her step out of her comfort zone. Of course, staff aren’t supposed to fraternize with campers, which leads to much sneaking around, though Avery and her sister attend several staff parties thanks to befriending lifeguard Maricela and drummer Kai. Avery learns to find her voice, both metaphorically—she feels her parents don’t take her seriously—and literally, as she must overcome her stage fright when asked to step in for the vocalist in Brooks’ band when they compete in the festival. Avery’s complicated relationship with her family feels underdeveloped, though the love story with Brooks hits all the right notes. Fans of West will enjoy this watered-down Dirty Dancing tale, with its swoony romance and uncomplicated plot. Most characters are White; Maricela is implied Latinx, and Kai is Polynesian.
A sweet, undemanding summer read. (Romance. 12-16)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-17626-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
A cute, feel-good coming-of-age story.
A DNA test reveals that Abby has a sister she never knew about—and they head off to summer camp together to uncover family secrets.
When 16-year-old Abby’s best friend and secret crush, Leo, asks her to do a mail-in DNA test with him, Abby mostly agrees to give him a little push, as he clearly wants to find out more about his birth family. While the results don’t help Leo, they bring a shocking result for Abby: She has a full-blooded sister, 18-year-old Instagram wellness star Savvy, who lives in another Seattle suburb. After meeting and realizing their respective parents used to be friends, the two girls decide to meet again at summer camp. Unfortunately, camp gets off to a rough start; Savvy is a stickler for rules, Abby didn’t read the rules in the first place, and Leo is a camp chef, which only intensifies Abby’s feelings for him. With a summer full of new friends, hijinks, delicious food, and digging up secrets, Abby has to learn to lean in and own up to the complicated parts of life. This is a heartwarming novel of friendship and family, with a little romance. The story and characters have depth and emotion, touching on topics of broken friendships, losing a loved one, deception, social media, and pursuing what you love. Abby, Savvy, and Leo’s adoptive parents are White; Leo is Filipino.
A cute, feel-good coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23730-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
SEEN & HEARD
For fans of all things Disney.
“Sleeping Beauty” is the source for this second prince-focused novel based on Disney’s animated classics.
Betrothed to Princess Aurora since her birth, young Prince Phillip witnessed her being gifted by good fairies and doomed to death by the evil fairy Maleficent, although intervention by a good fairy weakened the curse to a long sleep until true love should awaken her. Assigned the task of defeating Maleficent before the curse takes hold on Aurora’s 16th birthday, and with no say in the matter, Phillip’s spent his childhood preparing for a battle he expects to lose—acquiring knightly skills, jousting in tournaments—all to facilitate his marriage to a girl he hasn’t seen since her infancy. Resentful but struggling to accept his fate, Phillip and his squire, Johanna, foil a robbery, helped by magical vines. Soon three fairies arrive to tell a skeptical Phillip he possesses magic. By day, they train him to develop powers he’ll need to defeat Maleficent; at night, he dreams of a girl, Briar Rose. They’re separated by an impenetrable, thorny maze, so he never sees her face, but over time they get to know each other through their nocturnal conversations. As Phillip’s showdown with Maleficent approaches, a devastating discovery undermines his confidence. The sympathetic characters, who largely read white, are well drawn. While their interactions often resemble repetitive, extended talk-therapy sessions, and readers will quickly grasp where the plot is headed, some action scenes pick up the pace.
For fans of all things Disney. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781368069120
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
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