Cormier again takes on The Big Themes—love and hate, death, sin, guilt and expiation—in this riveting tale of a son increasingly involved in his father's tragedy. John Paul Colbert, 16, was the only person in the old Globe Theater's balcony when it collapsed, killing 22 children seated below. Although the he was officially cleared of wrongdoing in the ensuing investigation, he became the target of bomb threats, hate mail and middle-of-the-night phone calls from the bereaved and injured—even 25 years later. Unable to understand how his father can accept the harassment so passively, John Paul's son Denny, 16, answers the telephone one afternoon and finds himself listening to the friendly, seductive voice of Lulu. From Cormier's masterfully placed clues, readers already know that Lulu is the worst of John Paul's persecutors; slowly she draws Denny into a deadly trap by playing on his adolescent fantasies and emotional confusion. A melodramatic climax in which Lulu is killed by her own brother leaves Denny shaken but alive; he is still confused about his own feelings but closer to comprehending his father's. The author goes easier on his characters (and readers) than in some of his books (Tunes for Bears to Dance To, 1992, etc.), but still poses an array of tough moral choices, offering neither clear answers nor a neat ending. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-385-32158-9
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
A concise, thoughtful narrative that challenges the concept and ideals of allyship through an unexpected lens.
A white Ivy League student reconsiders his racial and class privilege when he runs for student government.
After the death of his best friend, Manny Rivers—a Black teenager who was fatally shot by an off-duty cop—Jared Peter Christensen realized that his whiteness and wealth protected him from the bigotry that Manny couldn’t escape. Now a rising junior at an elite college in Connecticut, Jared wants to make a meaningful impact on the world. He’s also determined to block John Preston LePlante IV, a self-proclaimed “blue-blooded Florida boy,” from winning junior class council president. But Jared’s plans are thrown for a loop when he meets Dylan Marie Coleman, a Black transfer student who enters the campus election. Initially guarded, Dylan opens up to Jared, and a mutual yet fragile romantic attraction blooms. As Jared tries to sort out his conflicting feelings, he writes letters to Manny. Can he earn Dylan’s heart and—more importantly—shed his old habits? In this final installment of Stone’s trilogy that began with Dear Martin (2017), Jared’s fraught journey is depicted with nuance, emotional honesty, and accessible realism. Through his mistakes, Jared learns about the insidious consequences of white supremacy and his complicity in a corrupt system. The positive ending rightfully doesn’t fully resolve all the lingering questions, and readers will wonder if Jared continues to evolve or if his resolutions are fleeting promises.
A concise, thoughtful narrative that challenges the concept and ideals of allyship through an unexpected lens. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593308011
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
A sweet and joyful romance times two.
Natalya Fox is ready for change but afraid of making the wrong decision; luckily she doesn’t have to choose in this parallel-timelines rom-com à la Sliding Doors.
Seventeen-year-old Natalya Fox has been given the choice of spending the summer at home with her father in New York City or moving in with her mother in Los Angeles. Manhattan is the safer option and would keep Natalya in her all-too-familiar comfort zone, but it does come with the possibility of romance with the girl Natalya has been crushing on for ages, known to her only as the Redhead due to Natalya’s inability to introduce herself. Los Angeles offers an internship and a chance to reconnect with her mother, and the other new intern, a boy her mom describes as cute, could be an unexpected perk. So Natalya makes her choice—and then she makes her other choice. Split between two parallel timelines, the novel shows readers Natalya falling in love, exploring her post-graduation plans, and finding new ways of connecting with her parents in both cities. Each of the timelines is exciting and heartwarming, although the Los Angeles love interest reads as more complex than the one back East, and the New York storyline lacks significant conflict, giving the West Coast one more depth overall. Bisexual Natalya is Jewish, and subjects such as keeping kosher, being queer and Jewish, and observing Shabbat are thoughtfully woven in.
A sweet and joyful romance times two. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9781250871640
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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