Still, it’s a mostly solid novel of identification that’s entirely capable of speaking to today’s youth.
Coming out in 1992 Dublin.
Seventeen-year-old Neil is a rugby star at his Catholic school, loves Sinead O’Connor and harbors a heavy secret: He’s gay. His coming-out process isn’t unlike that experienced by other characters from more recent young-adult novels (this was first published in Ireland in 1993). He takes his first trip to a gay bar. He eludes a persistent older man. He crushes on a cute waiter at a local bar. He falls in love, gets involved and gets dumped. What does make Lennon’s novel stand out is its 20-plus–year-old setting. The Troubles of Northern Ireland, the looming, grim presence of AIDS, the early 1990s Irish music scene and the negative stigma of homosexuality effectively turn this work into historical fiction. Despite this dark backdrop, Lennon’s work feels less heavy-handed than readers might expect. His vibrant characters and their realistic repartee keep the work from getting too mopey. Plotting is the novel’s only real fault. Some scenes feel prolonged while others move too quickly, and the end wraps up at a remarkable speed—not one, but three redemptions take place within the last three pages.
Still, it’s a mostly solid novel of identification that’s entirely capable of speaking to today’s youth. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8075-8916-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
A coming-of-age story best appreciated by fans of genre romance.
Told she resembles one of Jane Austen’s least likable characters, an aggrieved, self-doubting teen strives to change her ways.
Marnie Barnes, 18, a wealthy senior at an upscale San Francisco boarding school, feels pressured. When her older sister Lindy was a senior, her project won the school’s prestigious Hunt Prize. Now Marnie’s desperate to win it herself—her Stanford ambitions and family’s appreciation ride on it. The third of five daughters, Marnie feels slighted by their mother, who comments unfavorably on her weight. Facing the deadline to submit her project proposal (having children read to dogs at an animal shelter), she’s neither gracious nor grateful when her roommate, Adhira Fitz, introduces her to friends with animal-shelter contacts. When exasperated Adhira compares her to Elizabeth Bennet’s awful sister, Marnie realizes she needs to change, a challenge made easier by Eugene “Whit” Whitlock, the cute boy volunteering at the animal shelter who helps get her project on track. But Marnie’s still crushing on hot venture capitalist Hayes Wellesley, Lindy’s best friend’s fiance.Unlike Austen’s Mary, Marnie is redeemable—refreshingly imperfect, her characterization mostly rings true, and it’s her struggles that will keep readers invested as the plethora of largely familiar character types move through the unruly plot. Marnie is White; Canadian Adhira, who largely functions as the supportive BFF, has relatives in India; and Whit has a White American father and Japanese mother.
A coming-of-age story best appreciated by fans of genre romance. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-306013-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A fun, fast-paced coming-of-age story with an unusual twist.
High school senior Cameron keeps telling himself that he is over Allison Tandy, the ex-girlfriend who broke his heart, but after being prescribed fictional painkiller Delatrix for a basketball injury, he is not so sure.
After taking the drug, Cam is astounded to find himself conversing with Ally in his bathroom. This should be impossible because she was in a car crash months before and is hospitalized, lying in a coma. While Cam is at first disbelieving, suspecting this is a side effect of the drug, Ally slaps him and he passes out, coming to with a tender cheek, making the encounter feel real. With just two weeks until high school graduation, Cam has to cope not only with the confusion caused by Ally’s ongoing spectral visits, but with pressure from Chevy and Lisa, his best friends, to date again. The pair, dubbed The Happy Couple by Cam, even create a dossier of options for him to consider. Is he ready? What do his visits from Ally mean? Cam’s wry first-person narration and witty banter with Ally perfectly match the lighthearted mood of the book. Giving the novel some weight is its thoughtful exploration of the fate of high school relationships after graduation as couples negotiate their commitments. The affluent Illinois suburb setting allows for some exploration of characters’ awareness of relative socio-economic diversity. Cam and Ally are White; Chevy is Black, and Lisa is Jewish.
A fun, fast-paced coming-of-age story with an unusual twist. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-984812-94-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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