Heartfelt, hopeful, and full of queer coming-of-age charm.
Senior year should feel like a victory lap—but for Clay, it’s about to get complicated.
Clay Noguchi has great friends and confidence in his gender identity, and he’s even ready to try using the boys’ bathroom. But his hopes for a smooth school year unravel when his former best friend, Aron Santos—now a swaggering jock—lands in his theater class. Worse, they’re paired for an improv project. Aron slips easily back into their old dynamic, acting as if the years (and the ghosting) never happened, but Clay still feels stung by the betrayal. As rehearsals blur into real life, complicated feelings resurface. Clay starts choosing Aron over his friends, alienating those who care about him most. Meanwhile, Aron wrestles with questions about his own sexuality. Together, the two must decide whether they can rebuild what was broken, and whether they’re brave enough to be seen for who they truly are. Based on a WEBTOON, Burks’ debut is a slow-burn graphic rom-com that features inviting digital linework and expressive, character-focused cartooning. The warm, muted palette and clean backgrounds keep the focus on gestures and facial expressions, which carry most of the narrative weight. The story radiates warmth and theater-kid friendship, with Clay’s trans identity presented in a refreshingly matter-of-fact way. Most major characters read queer and Asian; Aron is cued Filipino American, and Clay presents Japanese American.
Heartfelt, hopeful, and full of queer coming-of-age charm. (yearbook page, sketches) (Graphic romance. 14-18)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9780063282469
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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