A light, escapist read.
Seventeen-year-old Louise Trevelyan’s sleepy Cornish village witnesses the arrival of the wealthy, glamorous Cardews.
Lou has a bustling, loving, ordinary family—and dreams of something more. Her older sister is content to marry and settle down, but at low tide Lou sneaks across the causeway and into the empty Cardew House, where she writes installments in her ongoing adventure story. When 23-year-old Robert and his sister, the anachronistically named Caitlin, come down from London for the summer, Lou is drawn into their circle, becoming a pet project and confidante for Caitlin, whose fast-living friends flock to her sumptuously decadent parties. Robert and Lou initially clash, but their underlying romantic attraction is heavily signaled. Beneath the sparkle, Lou senses the orphaned, noble Cardews’ dysfunction, though concrete facts are tantalizingly mysterious. As the summer wears on and the gap between Lou’s indulgences and her family’s modest lifestyle becomes more glaring, Lou faces the difficult question of what next: Should she find a local boy and abandon her dream of becoming a novelist? Throw herself at wealthy American Charlie? Face her true feelings about Robert (who is engaged to Charlie’s sister)? While the story is charmingly frothy and the descriptions of clothing delight, there is little chemistry between Lou and Robert, and the characters feel as insubstantial as the glossy veneer on their high-society lives. Main characters are white; there are significant black secondary characters.
A light, escapist read. (Historical romance. 13-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12722-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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