A laugh-out-loud YA romance with a smart cast.
In this YA romantic comedy, a Thai American teen from a tightknit family starts dating—on her parents’ terms.
Orrawin “Winnie” Techavachara is entering her final semester of high school in the Chicago suburbs without a boyfriend. Her parents don’t allow her to date, a rule that started with her beloved older sisters, Ari and Bunny, now in college several hours away and happily independent with no thoughts of settling down, much to Mom’s dismay. Fearing the same fate for their youngest daughter, Winnie’s parents change the rules. Winnie is now allowed to date, but it’s not quite that simple. First, Winnie’s mom will dictate the dates’ locations, each of which will pay tribute to beloved rom-coms, like Always Be My Maybeand When Harry Met Sally. Second, she’ll also dictate the boy. And it won’t be Winnie’s crush Taran, the new guy in school who also happens to be Thai, but Winnie’s former best friend, Mat Songsomboon, who’s been Winnie’s sworn enemy since an epic falling-out in junior high. Also, kissing is verboten. Mat’s father ups the ante for his reluctant son: For every date Mat and Winnie complete, he’ll add a day to Mat’s post-graduation solo backpacking trip through Asia. What starts as an awkward car ride to school soon becomes much more as Winnie realizes her feelings for Mat are more complex than she once believed, and Mat makes a startling revelation about his feelings for Winnie. But what’s a good Thai daughter to do when she’s not actually supposed to fall in love? New York Times–bestselling author Dunn, a first-generation Thai American, takes on the enemies-to-lovers romance trope with punchy dialogue and adorable twists while paying tribute to the culture’s prioritization of food and family: One of the novel’s best scenes plays out at the Songkran festival, a celebration of the Thai New Year. Both Winnie and Mat are intelligent, sympathetic characters with genuine chemistry in the throes of mutual eye-rolling–turned–puppy love, and Winnie’s family members are finely drawn and nuanced, with aspirations, conflicts, and dreams of their own.
A laugh-out-loud YA romance with a smart cast.Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68281-497-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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