An unconventional tale of evolving relationships and self-knowledge.
A reality star who fiercely guards her personal life ponders risking it all for true love.
Dakota McDonald has been famous since the moment her parents revealed on their hit renovation show that they were expecting her. But after having her childhood meticulously documented on television, America’s “DIY princess” longs to be a regular teen. Despite that, Dakota reluctantly agrees to turn her upcoming birthday into a special episode complete with corporate sponsorship and begins auditioning telegenic potential dates, who will earn $5,000 for their efforts. Complicating matters is Dakota’s childhood friend (and secret crush) Leo Matsuda, whose family owns her favorite restaurant. Like Dakota, who has a White father and Japanese/White mother, Leo is biracial (his father is from Japan, and his mother is a White American), and the two have always bonded over their love of Japanese culture. When Leo begins dating a classmate, Dakota struggles with jealousy even as she continues her staged courtship. While HGTV fans may wish there were more home renovation scenes, the moments detailing the pressures of being a teen girl in the public eye shine. Glimpses into Japanese American history and experiences, including the recounting of Dakota’s grandmother’s time in an internment camp and the discrimination her grandparents experienced as an interracial couple in the 1950s, ground the characters and story. Fans of Japanese food and pop culture will also find much to enjoy.
An unconventional tale of evolving relationships and self-knowledge. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: July 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-20410-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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