Messy, flawed, but utterly brilliant in its humanity.
Just over a month—that’s how long humanity has left before a comet named Foxworth collides with the Earth.
Simon wants to spend his remaining days beside his ex-girlfriend, Tilda, who dumped him in favor of experiencing life before their final day arrives. Simon, however, can’t seem to let go while Tilda sheds her old self more than ever, indulging in drugs and random hookups like most of their doom-conscious peers. Things are strained at home, where Simon tries to avoid the rising tensions between himself and his moms, exacerbated by the return of his pregnant older sister. Then Tilda turns up dead and everyone suspects Simon, including Tilda’s former best friend, Lucinda. Lucinda chronicles the chaos around her, as well as memories of her deceased friend, via an app. But as Simon and Lucinda uncover secrets from Tilda’s life, they become obsessed with solving her murder. A sprawling, at times meandering tale, bestselling author Strandberg’s latest moves a day at a time, an uneasy crawl toward the inevitable. Set in Sweden, the novel offers glimpses of turmoil abroad through pointed sociopolitical commentary and oblique observations on race. Although the trite murder mystery threatens to derail the narrative’s emotional impetus, strong character development brings it all together in the end. Most characters are White; Simon is biracial (his biological mother is Black from Dominica and his moms chose a White sperm donor).
Messy, flawed, but utterly brilliant in its humanity. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64690-006-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Arctis Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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