A touching, character-driven romance about second chances that will appeal to patient readers.
Two teenagers reconnect when they both need it most.
After three years, Piper and Henry, who are both cued white, reconnect by chance. The night they met, Piper was dealing with the grief of losing her parents, who died in a crash caused by a drunk driver, as well as with loneliness and academic stress. Seventeen-year-old Henry, from Spokane, Washington, was visiting his dad in Sugar Bay, Florida; he was the calming presence she needed. Now, Piper’s coping with tense relationships with 32-year-old Tati, who’s both her sister and her guardian, and Gabi, who reads Black and is her former best friend. Hypercritical Tati feels Piper is headed down a bad path, and Gabi feels betrayed by Piper. Henry is back for the summer, staying with his dad, who runs a sports bar, and dealing with his own relationship issues. While the narrative is engaging, it moves at a slow pace and can be repetitive. Still, as Piper and Henry reconnect, their characterization forms the heart of the novel. The story alternates between the leads’ first-person perspectives, and their sincerity makes them sympathetic. Piper’s experience of grief offers a reminder that we don’t always know what others are going through, while Henry’s struggles will resonate with readers who are navigating troubling family relationships. Upperman effectively discusses difficult topics like alcohol abuse, consent, and reproductive choice.
A touching, character-driven romance about second chances that will appeal to patient readers. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781464217814
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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
SEEN & HEARD
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