Lighthearted and fun.
In the basement of Heron River High School, a transgender transfer student seeking acceptance stumbles into the school’s best and worst kept secret—the ultra-exclusive Borrow a Boyfriend Club.
No one at Noah Byrd’s new school knows anything about him, and he intends to keep it that way until he can join a club manly enough to prevent the “little mistakes” that followed him at his old school. At the Football and Lamborghini After-School Club, Noah expects to find a group of super-bros, but instead he uncovers FALAC’s true identity. Operating under the teachers’ radar, the Borrow a Boyfriend Club provides people with temporary dates for social events. As absurd as the concept seems, their members’ reputation for being the hottest boys in school is exactly what Noah needs. But the club’s insufferably smug (and attractive) president, Asher Price, refuses to admit Noah into their ranks unless he can pass three tests of his dating skills, and help the club win the school’s talent show. A sassy enemies-to-lovers romance adds a thrilling allure to the lighthearted drama as Noah tries to prove his worth to Asher. Noah and Asher, who are both white, show meaningful growth, but the wider, diverse roster of characters lack satisfying nuance in their development. Powars veers away from tired plot tropes that involve a scandalous coming out by shifting the focus to internalized transphobia. This coming-of-age romance will have high appeal for fans of manga series like Ouran High School Host Club.
Lighthearted and fun. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9780593568583
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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