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
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
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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