An engaging story of personal growth and a second-chance romance.
The senior prank at Ames, an upscale Rhode Island boarding school, reignites romance and conflict for Lily Hopper and ex-boyfriend Tag Swell.
Their relationship lasted nearly two years before Lily broke it off. Her feelings for Tag remain intense—but so is her jealousy over his girl admirers, especially valedictorian Blair Greenberg, whom he dated next. After Tag and Blair’s split, Lily keeps her distance until she’s tapped to join the senior prank, an invitation that secretly comes from Tag himself. They are setting up student body president Daniel Rivera—whose promposal Lily regrets accepting—by hiding the new yearbooks he’s scheduled to hand out in two days. Planting a trail of clues for Daniel across campus at night, Lily and Tag revisit their history and feelings; the one obstacle to their happiness was Lily’s insecurity, the plot’s linchpin. Athletic and an accomplished dancer, she’s the class salutatorian and bound for Georgetown University, but attending Ames for free as the daughter of one of the most popular teachers on campus and surrounded by students who are far wealthier, she is acutely self-conscious of her “fac-brat” status, has always played it safe, and struggles with self-doubt. Rehashing their past through flashbacks, Lily faces difficult emotional truths. Tag’s Type 1 diabetes is well described and woven into the story without being the focus of his characterization. Lily and Tag read White; surnames cue ethnic diversity in the supporting cast.
An engaging story of personal growth and a second-chance romance. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781728263137
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Somberly beautiful.
A girl goes in search of her missing sister and discovers a strange hidden world of dreams.
Corin, who’s 18 and dark-skinned, strives to protect her 12-year-old sister, Elly. But life as a thief is full of struggle, poverty, and loss, even without Corin’s avoidance of other relationships. Elly clings to the promise of fairy tales, like the one that says a princess lies sleeping in an underground castle after pricking her finger on a spindle. After the sisters fight and Elly runs off, Corin searches for her in Gyldan’s old network of tunnels—and finds the tale is true: Cursed Princess Amelia, golden-haired, with eyes like “sea glass” and porcelain skin, lies asleep, surrounded by flowers. Corin enters the princess’ dreamworld—the place “where your subconscious desires come to life.” She meets Briar Rose, Amelia’s alter ego, who experienced her share of sadness and wanted to fall asleep. Also in the dreamworld is green-skinned Malicine, the nonbinary demon who, despite having placed the curse of eternal slumber on Amelia, is mostly friendly. All three are running from things they can’t face, though the dreamworld may not give them a choice. Pham’s debut, a Sapphic reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty,” explores mental health and asks a lot of readers as it seesaws between emotional confrontations, time jumps, and scenes where one character inhabits the memories of another, all of which demand intense engagement. Still, the ending is earned as well as positive.
Somberly beautiful. (content note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9798217113026
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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
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