A tender, heartfelt, and intelligent coming-of-age story that celebrates quiet strength and trusting your instincts.
Balancing multiple expectations is never easy—and sometimes doing it all feels impossible.
Lexie, a gifted Canadian 10th grader, is caught in a whirlwind of competing demands: striving for a sports scholarship to prestigious Sunridge High’s Fine Arts and Music program, grieving a beloved mentor, juggling swim team obligations, and navigating her parents’ post-divorce tension. While her mother and friends are supportive, her father—who’s charming but controlling—undermines her plans. He launches a renovation business and demands help from Lexie and her brother; he gets Lexie a dog she never asked for as a birthday gift and then complains she doesn’t care for it when she’s at her mom’s house. Lexie, who’s volunteering at a retirement home, dating lifeguard boyfriend Rhys, and dealing with anxiety (with help from a therapist), feels the pressure building until something has to give. Told with clear-eyed emotional insight and a sharp ear for teen voices, Azzam’s posthumously published novel gently but powerfully explores the costs of people-pleasing, the subtleties of emotional manipulation, and the strength required to set boundaries. Lexie’s journey toward recognizing healthy love and support is as rewarding as it is resonant. The lyrical prose, tight pacing, and strong supporting cast shine, and amid the emotional tension, many scenes show warmth and nurturing from those around Lexie. Most characters are cued white.
A tender, heartfelt, and intelligent coming-of-age story that celebrates quiet strength and trusting your instincts. (editor’s note, relationship red flags, resource) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781770868069
Page Count: 240
Publisher: DCB Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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