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THE JASMINE PROJECT

A sweet story of discovering your own worth and finding someone worthy of you.

Everyone should dream, but Korean American adoptee Jasmine holds herself back.

After high school graduation, she plans to move in with her long-term boyfriend, Paul, and get her nursing degree. But if Jaz let herself dream, she would move to Paris to pursue a culinary career. Her practical plan crumbles when she catches Paul cheating and allows him to talk her into an open relationship. While she is devastated, Jaz’s family sees this as an opportunity. Her large, lively Italian and Filipino extended family, plus ethnically diverse siblings and friends, knows she can do better than settle for Paul, so they decide to secretly stage a competition in the style of The Bachelorette, complete with podcast. They advertise on social media and narrow down the list to three bachelors: former boy next door Justin Michael, minor league baseball player Aaron, and aspiring chef Eugene. As Jaz starts having supposedly chance meetups with the guys, she starts falling for one even as Paul realizes his mistake. Will Jaz returned to Paul and the life she had carefully planned or throw out the script and dare to dream? Occasional plot points around the messy, entertaining, and loving extended family dynamics feel inconsistent and require suspension of disbelief, but Ireland’s charming and fun debut, told through traditional narration with text messages and podcast transcripts peppered throughout, ends on a satisfyingly positive note.

A sweet story of discovering your own worth and finding someone worthy of you. (Romance. 13-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5344-7702-5

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021

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IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

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

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POWERLESS

From the Powerless Trilogy series , Vol. 1

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.

The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.

Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023

ISBN: 9798987380406

Page Count: 538

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023

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