Ideal for lovers of both juicy reality TV and inspiring LGBTQ+ documentaries.
Friends, enemies, and frenemies see the best and worst sides of each other when the vote for LGBTQ+ Society president is opened up to the whole school.
The club supporting queer students at Barney Brown’s school, Greenacre Academy, means everything to him. Passionate about its mission, the gay, White English teen is confident that he’s exactly the president the club needs—and even more confident that he’s a shoo-in for the role. His two best friends, George Piper and Maya Phillips, a White trans boy and Black lesbian, respectively, are the only other people choosing between Barney and Bronte O’Halloran—his opponent, Maya’s ex-girlfriend, and the sworn enemy of the tightknit trio. But when Bronte convinces their principal to allow all 1,000 members of the student body to vote, a contentious election campaign is set into motion in which both candidates will do whatever it takes to win. Adding to the pressure is the news that Rainbow Youth, a national organization, will be choosing one school’s queer club to represent them as global ambassadors. But even when the results of the vote come in, the drama is just beginning. The characters’ relationships and dialogue are endearing and laugh-out-loud funny. It is hard not to root for these teens as they fail and succeed together. Multiple plot twists and shocking reveals make this book difficult to put down.
Ideal for lovers of both juicy reality TV and inspiring LGBTQ+ documentaries. (author’s note, resources, club minutes) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781338897463
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
A gentle romance set against a bummer of a backdrop.
Two teens get romantic in March 2020.
Maxine and Jonah first meet bumping into each other in the grocery store just as the world is starting to come to an end. It’s early 2020, and California’s going into lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19. Jonah’s been an anxious mess even before the deadly virus hit American shores, and Maxine (or as she prefers, Max) has been barely hanging on with a part-time gig buying other people’s groceries. The pair strike up some witty repartee over toilet paper that tips into full-on flirtation, eventually pushing them into the unlucky task of starting a relationship just as everyone’s trying to keep away from one another. As the two teens Zoom and text their way through the pandemic, class differences, mental health issues, and good old-fashioned melodrama rear their heads. The romance is sweet, and the novelty of the pandemic’s early days is effectively rendered, but readers’ mileage may vary when it comes to reliving the anxious second quarter of 2020. The authors never push the virus element too hard, smartly centering Max and Jonah’s relationship as a fairly typical getting-to-know-you courtship with a handful more speed bumps. The end result is a quiet exploration of two teens going through some heady times, the sort of read that will be appreciated, if not now, then in a year or two. Max and Jonah are presumed White.
A gentle romance set against a bummer of a backdrop. (content notes) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-32612-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
A killer read.
A manipulative teen sets his sights on destruction.
When Crystal Giordano, who’s Puerto Rican and Italian American, recognizes new student Aaron Fortin as the Speaker—the masked streamer her friends obsessively follow—she blurts out that fact at their lunch table, not realizing the havoc that will follow her revelation. Aaron insinuates himself into the friend group, easily winning over “Extremely Online” Harmony and standoffish Paul (all three teens are white). Meanwhile, closeted Trevor (who’s Black and Muslim), goth Gayle (who’s white), and Crystal herself are harder nuts to crack. Crystal begins to suspect that Aaron has a dark side, but when he releases her private video diary to the entire school, the exposed secrets drive a possibly insurmountable wedge between her and her friends. But when she realizes Aaron has something huge planned for prom night, she knows it’s up to her to save the day. A clean-cut teenage amalgam of Charles Manson and Slenderman, Aaron employs a variety of techniques to control his online followers and real-life peers. The point of view alternates between Aaron and Crystal, putting readers right in the middle of the deadly cat-and-mouse game. Cesare keeps the tension ramping up, while the stakes rise higher and the murders keep coming. Horror fans will have a tough time putting this down once they start reading.
A killer read. (content warning, resources) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781454954248
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
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