Slightly less rizz than its predecessor, but still worth the ride.
Queer teens reprise their James Bond–inspired hijinks.
Only 19 days after their wedding, 17-year-old newlyweds Nico Hall and Sam Solomon are already keeping secrets. Since their breakout mission in A Different Kind of Brave (2024), both white-presenting boys have been recruited as spies, but they can’t reveal this fact to each other. Their mission focuses on an anomaly that’s on a collision path with Earth—and the six-day countdown to the expected impact is on. Field agent Nico—code name “Parkour”—ends up in Hawai‘i, verifying the danger with an optical telescope. Meanwhile, Sam—aka “the Knitter”—is tasked with thinking up contingencies as an analyst for a “sensitive and compartmented information facility.” Dangers surrounding the pair escalate while things also heat up between them, as Sam worries that Nico still hasn’t said “I love you” back. Luckily, their missions eventually bring them closer to finding out the truth—in more ways than one. But can they “pull the wig off this whole thing,” save the world, and save their marriage? Amid the heavy flirting and passion, the lovelorn spies have a meaningful conversation about monogamy. The alternating third-person narration effectively builds tension, but for such high stakes as mass destruction, the resolution’s payoff falls a little short. Still, the Bond references and cool gadgetry abound in this fast-paced sequel—this time, notably including some AI.
Slightly less rizz than its predecessor, but still worth the ride. (author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9780897336444
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Duet
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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 gripping tribute to resilience.
A girl with amnesia and a boy suspected of harming his girlfriend overcome adversity to find the answers they seek.
A 17-year-old girl wakes up in a ditch, disoriented and with no memory of who she is or what happened. Found by the Alton, Oregon, police, she is brought to the station. Soon after, Wayne Boone, a man claiming to be her father, shows up. He has photos of her on his phone and her high school ID card, with the name Mary Boone. Wayne convinces the police to release Mary into his custody. The more time Mary spends with Wayne, however, the weirder things get: He’s unaware of her food allergy, and as her memories start to return, they don’t conform with Wayne’s versions of her life. In the town of Washington City, across the Willamette River, Drew is in a bad place. His girlfriend, Lola, has disappeared, and Drew was the last person to see her. His adoptive dads and cousin are the only ones who support him; everyone else, including the sheriff, thinks he’s responsible for Lola’s disappearance. Intent on finding Lola, Drew finds help in an unlikely ally, Lola’s best friend, Autumn, who is the sheriff’s daughter. But will they find Lola in time? The two immersive storylines bring to life the trials and frustrations each main character faces in this debut, which is a thrilling delight right up to the unexpected and bittersweet conclusion. Most characters are cued white; one of Drew’s dads is Guatemalan.
A gripping tribute to resilience. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781728270111
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
