An insightful and well-characterized depiction of a teen navigating some of life’s tough challenges.
After a girl completes a stint in a detention center, she comes home to completely different family dynamics.
Jasmine Cooper spent a year at Guiding Hearts Home for Troubled Girls because her divorced mother feared her behavior was out of control. During her time away, her mom remarried and moved to a new neighborhood, and now Jasmine has a stepfather and a stepsister her age named Kayla. Jasmine discovers that her mom has told people she’s been away at boarding school, arguing that she needs to maintain this lie so she can make a fresh start. Where once her mother worked two jobs to make ends meet, she now leads an affluent lifestyle with her Realtor husband. Kayla appears friendly at home, but at school she wants nothing to do with Jasmine. Jasmine, who struggles with the repercussions of her past choices, keeps quiet about Kayla’s duplicity. Being paired for a school project with popular Deanna leads to friendship, and Jasmine begins to settle in. But when Amari, a girl from Guiding Hearts, reaches out, Jasmine’s efforts to secretly resume their connection go badly wrong. Debut author McCallum’s engaging tale paints an understanding picture of Jasmine and her decisions. Told in a dual timeline, this sensitive story centering on African American characters portrays a teen caught between attempts to nurture relationships and missteps that create problems.
An insightful and well-characterized depiction of a teen navigating some of life’s tough challenges. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781250320261
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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