Malay, who has twice won the Carnegie Medal for her supernatural stories (The Haunting and The Changeover), has now written a brilliant romance. More than just a romance, though, this is a haunting tale of two unusual teen-agers coming to terms with their feelings of truth, and of the fine line between lies and fairy tales. Angela May, the beautiful, illegitimate daughter of Dido May, has always asked questions about her real father. And her mother has told her stories about the wealthy man she loved but couldn't marry. As a child, Angela accepted the stories. As a young woman, she wants to know more and begins investigating. She makes Tycho Potter, her best friend but not boyfriend, an unwilling confidante as she nears the time to confront Roland Chase with her identity. She had expected that the confrontation might be unpleasant; she had not expected to learn that Dido's stories were untrue. The truth enrages her, and prompts her to do something "degrading." However, it also allows her to see that homely, bookish Tycho is the one she has loved all along; she and Tycho can at last be honest about their feelings. Teens will be moved by the emotional impact of the story, and challenged by the many ideas set forth by Tycho and Angels, who are as fascinated by philosophy and astronomy as they are by each other. The Catalogue of the Universe (the title is taken from the title of a book Angels once gave Tycho) is not for the casual reader. It is slow-going in some places, and heavy-going in others, but the journey through Angela and Tycho's minds and feelings is well worth the effort.
Pub Date: March 1, 1986
ISBN: 068985353X
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1986
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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