An entertaining teen romance with a problematic approach to consent.
Alice Dyson has spent her high school career perfecting the art of invisibility—until the day she unexpectedly befriends Teddy Taualai, and suddenly she’s all anyone can talk about.
A studious loner living under immense pressure from her mother’s unrealistic expectations, Alice avoids everyone except her best friend, May, whom she’s known since kindergarten. But then Teddy inserts himself into her life, and Alice finds herself opening up in ways she never has before, including romantically. Alice isn’t the only one changing: After years on the sidelines, May craves popularity and begins to act in ways Alice can’t understand. As Alice grows closer to Teddy and drifts away from May, she must make choices about who her friends are—and about the kind of friend she wants to be. Alice’s voice is charmingly open, honest, and kind, and her loyalty to her friends combined with her deep insecurity render her character fascinatingly layered. At times, Teddy’s pushiness feels toxic, and Alice’s willingness to return to him seems both unhealthy and out of character. While her relationships with May and Teddy are complex, Alice’s relationship with her parents is barely explored, leading to an ending that feels too tidy to be believable. Other than Teddy, whose name and dark skin may cue him as Samoan, most of the characters in the book are White.
An entertaining teen romance with a problematic approach to consent. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1478-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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