A sweet high school sports romance whose engaging leads will draw readers in.
High school juniors Lacey Kerr and Vaughn Collins seemingly couldn’t be more different, but when romance blossoms, they must decide what’s most important to them.
Lacey is the ever-optimistic cheer captain who’s trying to finish her late mom’s bucket list as a way of connecting with her. Vaughn is the serious, brooding captain of the soccer team who’s obsessed with making it to the state championships. When Vaughn fails an algebra test, his coach, who’s also his famous soccer star dad, benches him until he can get his grades up. Lacey resents Vaughn for the way he dumped her best friend, Claire, but she reluctantly agrees to tutor him for the sake of the team’s success. The last thing the white-presenting duo expect is to fall in love, but their attraction builds as they discover their hidden similarities. Jenshak authentically portrays the struggles of balancing a relationship with academics, athletics, and parental expectations and commitments. The dynamic characterization and adorable romance are the story’s highlights, but the fast-paced soccer scenes boost the pace. Vaughn, in particular, shows genuine growth. This dual-perspective novel works as a stand-alone, but fans of the series’ opener, Stealing for Keeps (2024), will be delighted by glimpses into the ongoing relationship between Claire and Austin, the leads of the earlier story.
A sweet high school sports romance whose engaging leads will draw readers in. (high school bucket list, reading group guide) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781464230646
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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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