A charming love story that delves into relationships and regrets with a touch of magic.
A high school graduate plans to tell her best friend that she loves him during her annual summer vacation to California but winds up wishing she could have a do-over instead.
Dixie Mulligan arrives in Cielo Springs with a plan: forget about the fight she had with her parents, help her aunt Kate fix the fire damage to her 110-year-old movie theater, and tell her best friend, Sawyer, that she loves him. The problem is that Dixie hasn’t spoken to Sawyer since he visited her in New York over spring break—and everything between them “exploded.” But when Dixie sees Sawyer kissing another girl, she decides to use her Rewind. Each member of the Mulligan family has a magical gift that allows them to redo one moment from the past year. Dixie submits her application, and if it’s approved, her Rewind will go into effect four days after she watches her Movie, which is “like watching secret CCTV footage of yourself”—showing the alternate timeline of her life. But will this be enough to save their relationship? In this story that’s full of secrets, surprises, and unexpected twists, Dixie and Sawyer’s relationship isn’t the only one affected by her decision. The worldbuilding, including the Rewind rules, is carefully explained, and the chapters open with excerpts from the Mulligans’ writings about their magic. The main characters are cued white.
A charming love story that delves into relationships and regrets with a touch of magic. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: 9781250289728
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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