A delightful slow-burn romance with a touch of sentimental magic.
Zadie is sure that she and Jason are meant to be together forever.
When Jason, “the king of Sterlingwood High,” abruptly ends the relationship on their one-year anniversary, Zadie is stunned. But before she can come to terms with her situation, they get into a car crash. Zadie might have a concussion, but Jason is in a coma. Not willing to admit to being dumped, Zadie pretends that the breakup never happened. Not only that, she tells everyone that Jason gave her a promise ring. No one must discover the truth. Unfortunately for Zadie, Marcus, Jason’s cousin, overheard her revealing everything to her friend Monique in a voice note. As Zadie figures out how to escape her lies, she suddenly finds herself magically transported into one of her favorite memories of Jason. Much to her displeasure, Marcus is also there. Over the course of the story, the unlikely pair travel through the previous year’s memories. Zadie is determined to figure out where her seemingly perfect partnership with Jason went sour so she can fix things. But as Zadie and Marcus spend more time together in the dreams, they grow close. This bittersweet and fantastical story would have benefited from more character development, but this is, ultimately, a satisfying, well-written romance. A shocking major twist works well, and Everett absolutely nails the landing. Zadie and Monique are Black, and Jason and Marcus are white.
A delightful slow-burn romance with a touch of sentimental magic. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2026
ISBN: 9798217002986
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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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