A clever and thoughtful investigation of teenage empowerment.
Two teenage girls turn the tables on high school misogynists in this YA novel.
Sixteen-year-old narrator Bethany Cummings lives in a swanky Chicago suburb where she doesn’t share the in-crowd’s values. Indeed, she has no close friends until her junior year, when she meets new female student Ash Bauer, who, like her, isn’t into coy flirting—although both still worry about how to please guys. After they encounter some jerkish male behavior, though, they realize that it’s time to reverse the dynamic. Bethany discovers a spreadsheet on her brother’s old MacBook evaluating various girls he dated, assigning them points for anything from a hug to a sexual act; when each girl reached 100 points, she got dumped. Bethany is disgusted and furious—but she also sees the perfect way to overturn the system. She and Ash develop a guy-rating spreadsheet that gives them new confidence and a measure of romantic success. But Ash becomes troubled by the new system, which hasn’t resulted in a jerk-free relationship and is, after all, ethically dubious. Bethany, who’s been gaining influence as a feminist activist, defends the new spreadsheet system, but her views are challenged when she meets a kind, respectful guy. Doyle, whose debut novel, Milked (2019), was written for an adult audience, here offers her first YA novel that tackles some mature themes. The spreadsheet proves to be a great hook for a story and a graphic way to capture the colder, more manipulative power dynamics of dating. That said, it’s never really acknowledged that people who are less attractive than Bethany and Ash might have some trouble adopting their tactics. The book’s humor is nicely balanced by moral complexity, and even Bethany’s brother, the inventor of the point system, is revealed to be a more complicated character than he first appears.
A clever and thoughtful investigation of teenage empowerment.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73395-034-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Lang Verhaal Company
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A promising premise that’s lacking in spice.
A fall romance with a New England backdrop.
Autumn leaves aren’t the only stunning thing to hit the town of Briar Glen—so has good-looking new boy Jack Harper, and Lucy Kane is enamored with both. Her new crush is the perfect thing to take her mind off the fact that Java Junction, part of a global chain, is opening across the street from Cup o’ Jo, Lucy’s mother’s coffee shop, where they take pride in baking everything from scratch and avoiding artificial ingredients. But there’s more than coincidence in the timing of the arrivals of both Jack and Java Junction: The Harper family moved to Briar Glen specifically to open this franchise location, which will bring competition that threatens Cup o’ Jo. This scenario has the makings of a perfect autumnal adversaries-to-lovers romance, but the writing lacks charm and chemistry. Jack seems to be completely enamored with Lucy, but her character isn’t sufficiently developed to warrant his attention. Lucy’s friends are continually supportive of her but have few distinguishing characteristics, and the story is weakened by confusing timelines and repetitive elements. The resolution relies upon successes that come too easily and do not feel earned. Major characters are cued white.
A promising premise that’s lacking in spice. (Romance. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781339030753
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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