This genre-bending novel is for the true romantics at heart.
Soul mates fight to be together over centuries.
The pandemic brought unspeakable tragedy to Tamar and her family—her mother died, Tamar survived but now has a deteriorating lung condition, and her sister, Aabidah, was forced to make personal sacrifices in order to serve as family caretaker. Aabidah finally convinces Tamar to pursue her last option—cryogenics. As Tamar and her love, Fayard, spend their last minutes together before she sets off for the overseas cryogenics center, an explosion goes off at the airport, killing everyone but the two of them. They wake up in the hospital with no memory of who they were and what happened, but they recognize a deep connection with one another. As they struggle to remember their present life, they dream of the other lives they spent together. Time, space, and place are important pieces of the storytelling, and Miles expertly provides enough details about contemporary Columbia, South Carolina; Gao, Mali, in 1325; 1920s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Alpha 9, Lunar Base in 2260 to truly transport readers. The main characters are Black, and their identities are central to fully understanding each time period; historical details, such as information about the Pullman porters, add layers of depth. Tamar and Fay’s relationships throughout the ages and the mystery behind how their story ends are revealed with a satisfying slow burn.
This genre-bending novel is for the true romantics at heart. (discussion questions) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8597-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 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
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