Engaging stories that fill a need for reluctant readers seeking positive, inspiring stories of same-sex relationships.
A suburban Vancouver teen wants to make her mark online.
After her cover of a Rihanna song goes viral following the lackluster performance of her beauty tutorials, queer, biracial (Danish/Asian Indian) Char Gill decides that devoting herself to her guitar and vocals will help jump-start her social media presence, even if it means abandoning other pursuits like the LGBTQ+ club at school. However, her school’s pack of mean girls targets Char’s social media and begins to troll her. Char discovers an app, SendLove, created to combat online bullying by drowning out hateful comments in a crowd of positive ones. Using the handle “Charming,” she strikes up an online relationship with the SendLove moderator, “Cinders.” Connecting through video conversations before meeting face to face, their relationship quickly becomes romantic. As Char becomes more involved with SendLove and Cinders, she takes stock of her life and does a self-designed internet detox. A companion novel, Cinders, details events from Ash’s (aka Cinders’) point of view. Ash is a presumably white teenager living with her stepfather and stepsiblings after her mother’s death. A talented coder, she invented SendLove as an entry for a badly needed college scholarship. The books address homophobia and heteronormativity, dysfunctional families, bullying—both face-to-face and cyber—and the pitfalls of social media with realism and care. The girls’ sweet romance helps each of them grow in confidence and learn to take emotional risks.
Engaging stories that fill a need for reluctant readers seeking positive, inspiring stories of same-sex relationships. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4594-1387-0
Page Count: 178
Publisher: James Lorimer
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2018
A warmly entertaining story at the nexus of teen relationships and activism.
An African American teen activist is drawn to a young man she meets accidentally.
Marva Sheridan was passionate about politics long before she was able to vote herself. It was not enough to anticipate voting for the first time, she’s also worked to make sure that others did so as well. When she witnesses Duke Crenshaw, another teen, being turned away on Election Day, she springs into action. The two spend the day together as Duke attempts to work out his registration issues and get to his drumming gig. As they get to know each other, bits of their stories are shared: Marva’s tensions with Alec, her White boyfriend who has decided not to vote, and Duke’s family, who is still trying to cope following the death of his older brother. Duke’s White mother and Black father have divorced, and both parents are extremely protective of him and his younger sister. In addition, Marva’s cat Selma, an internet star known as Eartha Kitty, has gone missing. Colbert skillfully manages both serious and playful elements throughout the novel. Marva has an infectious personality, and her politics and identity are realistically portrayed. Duke’s grief, still raw, is palpable and will engage readers’ empathy. The chapters feature alternating first-person narration, giving the novel an intimate feel. Secondary characters add rich texture to and understanding of the primary characters.
A warmly entertaining story at the nexus of teen relationships and activism. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-05329-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
A worthy conclusion to a story that is, at its core, about love and letting go.
Tea prepares to make the greatest sacrifice in this impassioned finale to the Bone Witch series.
In the present, Fox angrily searches for his bone witch sister, Tea, who will stop at nothing to save him from the half-life he has been living since she raised him from the dead. In the past, Tea is on a quest for First Harvest, the magical plant she needs to revive her brother, which she can only use after acquiring shadowglass. Conjuring shadowglass requires a black heart, and Tea’s darkens as she continues to wield dark magic to achieve her goals. More and more lose faith in her when she becomes plagued with haunting visions and, in her sleep, kills an innocent with her own hands. But someone is using a blight rune to transform people into terrifying daevalike monsters, and it may very well be the same traitor in Tea’s inner circle who has been poisoning her. Though the storylines never truly converge, readers gain insight into Tea’s destructive choices and their aftereffects. Exhaustive explanations of asha history are important to the plot but weighty. Transgender Likh’s exploration of her identity honestly complements Tea’s own journey toward self-discovery, and readers will root for both their romances. Characters have a variety of skin tones, but race is not significant in this world.
A worthy conclusion to a story that is, at its core, about love and letting go. (maps, kingdom guide) (Fantasy. 13-adult)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6060-6
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
© Copyright 2025 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.
