An ambitious novel that doesn’t delve deeply enough into its meaningful topics.
Three teen girls in a small Ohio town start a secret sex education program.
After realizing that her school’s sex education program is woefully lacking, overachiever Fallon sets out to form a secret group to discuss sex and share information. She enlists the help of her best friend, Jobie, and classmate Shelby, a semi-famous fighter who’s in the spotlight after a video captured an act of domestic violence in which her (now ex) boyfriend punched her. The group begins meeting at a local recreation center, offering a safe space for their classmates to ask questions about sex. When the white teens create an Instagram account to share sexual health information more widely, they quickly gain both supporters and enemies. Each of the three protagonists faces her own struggles: Fallon becomes a target for harassment as the group and Instagram account grow in popularity, Jobie’s obsession with social media leads her down a dark path, and Shelby grapples with her recent breakup even as she’s drawn into a new, insidiously toxic relationship. The novel attempts to tackle timely issues but none is given enough time to be adequately addressed. The shocking and disturbingly dark ending may leave readers unsettled, though fans of McGinnis will appreciate her signature razor-sharp writing. While there are queer characters among the supporting cast and brief mentions of LGBTQ+ topics, the conversations around sex primarily center cisgender and heterosexual teens.
An ambitious novel that doesn’t delve deeply enough into its meaningful topics. (author’s note) (Fiction. 15-18)Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780063370692
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
Entertaining.
A tale of love and loss that spans the globe.
Instead of having a carefree summer, biracial (Korean/White) Anna is sent away from the familiarity of New York, her friends, the past school year’s scandal—and the memories of her dead boyfriend, Alexia Vronsky. While struggling with grief, her shattered self-image, and an uncertain future, Anna attempts to reclaim her summer in Seoul, where she knows only her father and grandmother. Beatrice, Alexia’s cousin, juggles her clingy girlfriend and falling for a California surfer even as she represses her grief. Meanwhile, Anna’s brother, Steven, plans for an amazing summer party, although Lolly, his girlfriend, is away at theater camp. Steven’s best friend, Dustin, and Kimmie, Lolly’s younger sister, are equally nervous about their first sexual experience together. This sequel to Anna K (2020) contains fewer mentions of luxury brands, and the characters exhibit an increased awareness of the impacts of wealth and socio-economic status. The novel also touches on issues of addiction, sexism, cultural differences, fame, relationships, love, and mental health; in particular, the portrayals of living with grief and redefining the self after a loved one dies shine. Despite some awkward time skips, the humor, pop-culture references, and characters’ distinct voices strengthen the story. Fans of the first novel will enjoy this follow-up, which is also accessible to readers new to Anna and her world. Some major characters are White; Dustin is Black and Jewish, and there is diversity in the supporting cast.
Entertaining. (cast of characters) (Fiction. 15-18)Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23646-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues...
He’s in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs. She’s fighting the brown fluid in her lungs caused by tumors. Both know that their time is limited.
Sparks fly when Hazel Grace Lancaster spies Augustus “Gus” Waters checking her out across the room in a group-therapy session for teens living with cancer. He’s a gorgeous, confident, intelligent amputee who always loses video games because he tries to save everyone. She’s smart, snarky and 16; she goes to community college and jokingly calls Peter Van Houten, the author of her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, her only friend besides her parents. He asks her over, and they swap novels. He agrees to read the Van Houten and she agrees to read his—based on his favorite bloodbath-filled video game. The two become connected at the hip, and what follows is a smartly crafted intellectual explosion of a romance. From their trip to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive Van Houten to their hilariously flirty repartee, readers will swoon on nearly every page. Green’s signature style shines: His carefully structured dialogue and razor-sharp characters brim with genuine intellect, humor and desire. He takes on Big Questions that might feel heavy-handed in the words of any other author: What do oblivion and living mean? Then he deftly parries them with humor: “My nostalgia is so extreme that I am capable of missing a swing my butt never actually touched.” Dog-earing of pages will no doubt ensue.
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus’ poignant journey. (Fiction. 15 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-525-47881-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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