A once-upon-a-time reminder that life sucks and love stinks—but ain’t they grand? (Fiction. 15 & up)
In fair San Francisco where we lay our scene, a pair of star-cross’d classmates freaks out about life.
All-American baseballer Mark is in love with his closeted best friend, Ryan. Kate pines for bon vivant Violet. Mark convinces Ryan to sneak to the Castro district for Pride Week festivities, thinking the shared adventure will surely make Ryan fall for him. Kate, too, is en route to San Francisco to finally meet Violet and commence romance. But Ryan falls for another suitor, and self-sabotaging Kate runs away from meeting Violet and ends up at the same bar. United by desperation, Mark and Kate embark on a magical night together (the truths of which are gradually revealed like romantic bread crumbs). Desperation, adoration, and confusion are confronted over several days as the outlooks of these two newfound friends evolve. The pacing and voices of LaCour’s and Levithan's alternating points of view are on point, keeping this sweet fairy tale moving gladly forward. And it is a fairy tale, for the circumstances are implausible. Who talks like that? How could this duo possibly become friends? But it-gets-better optimism swells the story’s spirit. Despite its delights, there are two notable missteps. Several mediocre poems obstruct pages at a poetry slam. And apart from a few minor characters, this is a vanilla middle-class world that white Mark and Kate inhabit.
A once-upon-a-time reminder that life sucks and love stinks—but ain’t they grand? (Fiction. 15 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-250-09864-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
A soapy ending that will satisfy returning fans.
A young woman faces difficult decisions in the final volume of Argentinian author Ron’s trilogy.
This uncredited translation of a text originally published in 2021 opens a week after the events of Tell Me in Secret (2026). Julian, who deceived, stalked, and sexually assaulted Kami, has disappeared and is yet to be held accountable for his actions. Kami’s lust for Thiago has intensified even though she’s still dating his brother, Taylor, deepening her feelings of guilt and shame. The brothers, who are hardly speaking to each other, are so focused on keeping Kami safe from Julian that they cross the line from protective to overbearing and controlling. Taylor, already jealous of the closeness between Kami and Thiago, has his suspicions confirmed when one of Kami’s friends waspishly reveals her conflicted feelings. Raging and upset, Taylor lashes out physically at Thiago and breaks up with Kami. Thiago and Kami naturally grow closer; he reassures her that “there’s nothing wrong with loving” and that she wouldn’t be in this predicament if she “didn’t have so much love to give.” Then, devastating events change the trio’s lives forever. Although this entry features some improvements in character development (when it comes to Thiago, in particular) the one-note antagonists with their uninteresting melodramatics come across as absurd, undermining the impact of darker plot twists. Still, the resolution effectively wraps up this mediocre series. Central characters read white.
A soapy ending that will satisfy returning fans. (publisher’s note, content warning) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781464234330
Page Count: 350
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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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