An engaging time-loop love story with a unique spin.
Carter Cohen just turned 16—again.
On the morning of Carter’s 16th birthday, his family delivers some unbelievable news: This isn’t the first time. Technically he’s 22—and his “little brother,” Lincoln, is 19. Every December, when Carter is supposed to turn 17, he instead loops backward; any physical changes and his memories from the previous year are erased, while the rest of the world keeps going. Carter is now on his sixth loop, and doctors haven’t been able to figure out what’s causing his unusual condition. Meanwhile, Maggie Spear, Carter’s girlfriend from the previous loop, is devastated that he no longer remembers her. She decides it’s better to pretend their relationship never happened than to risk heartbreak again. Despite Maggie’s efforts to move on from Carter, the two find themselves drawn together again. As Carter’s next birthday comes closer, he and Maggie question what their future will look like when there’s no guarantee that Carter will reach 17. Rubin offers an original take on the time-loop trope, deftly exploring the complexities of relationships and what it means to change. The novel alternates in perspective between Carter and Maggie, who have distinct voices, resulting in a delightfully banter-filled love story. Carter is Jewish, and he and Maggie both read white. There are queer and racially diverse characters among the supporting cast.
An engaging time-loop love story with a unique spin. (author’s note) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780063330368
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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 thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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