A treat.
Romance blooms even during turbulent winters.
Missed chances on New Year’s Eve, a Star Wars movie premiere, the soundtrack to grieving a breakup, breaking traditions for a school dance, celebrating holidays amid a pandemic, a modern fairy tale, stark realizations about life passing by, the awkwardness of bringing a boyfriend home for Christmas, and characters in limbo, waiting to be written into the story: Rowell weaves these scenarios into nine short stories, some realistic and some fantasy and most taking place during the winter or relating to holidays. A number are set in the author’s home state of Nebraska. Fans will recognize a few familiar characters, including Simon and Baz from Carry On (2015), the sole queer couple in this collection. All but one story ends in a definite romance, but they are all about the honest, layers-peeled-back connections by which people feel seen by one another. With this volume, which includes four previously published entries, Rowell offers more of what she does best: character-driven stories interlaced with a healthy dose of nerdiness and a little sappy indulgence thrown in as a treat. It’s easy to get swept up in these tales and root so passionately for the protagonists that it almost hurts, but readers will close the covers feeling satisfied. Except for one Vietnamese American protagonist, the cast is predominantly White. Each story is prefaced by an attractive mulberry- or mint green–and-white, full-page illustration that helps set the mood.
A treat. (Short stories. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-2508-5541-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Somberly beautiful.
A girl goes in search of her missing sister and discovers a strange hidden world of dreams.
Corin, who’s 18 and dark-skinned, strives to protect her 12-year-old sister, Elly. But life as a thief is full of struggle, poverty, and loss, even without Corin’s avoidance of other relationships. Elly clings to the promise of fairy tales, like the one that says a princess lies sleeping in an underground castle after pricking her finger on a spindle. After the sisters fight and Elly runs off, Corin searches for her in Gyldan’s old network of tunnels—and finds the tale is true: Cursed Princess Amelia, golden-haired, with eyes like “sea glass” and porcelain skin, lies asleep, surrounded by flowers. Corin enters the princess’ dreamworld—the place “where your subconscious desires come to life.” She meets Briar Rose, Amelia’s alter ego, who experienced her share of sadness and wanted to fall asleep. Also in the dreamworld is green-skinned Malicine, the nonbinary demon who, despite having placed the curse of eternal slumber on Amelia, is mostly friendly. All three are running from things they can’t face, though the dreamworld may not give them a choice. Pham’s debut, a Sapphic reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty,” explores mental health and asks a lot of readers as it seesaws between emotional confrontations, time jumps, and scenes where one character inhabits the memories of another, all of which demand intense engagement. Still, the ending is earned as well as positive.
Somberly beautiful. (content note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9798217113026
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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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