Any teen who’s ever dreamed big or worshipped a star from afar will relate to this lightweight but nonetheless enchanting...
A teen blogger obsessed with Audrey Hepburn organizes a magical weekend for fellow Breakfast at Tiffany’s fans.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma Beasley is no Holly Golightly. But for one weekend, she is determined to approximate the famous character’s glamorous life by inviting followers of her Oh Yeah, Audrey! blog to join her for a midnight screening of Breakfast at Tiffany’s in New York City. For two days, Gemma hopes to forget about life in the cramped Philly apartment she shares with her lonely father after her mother’s recent death. Gemma is thrilled to meet her online friends Bryan and Trina in front of Tiffany’s jewelry store, but their detailed agenda is soon derailed when another Oh Yeah, Audrey! fan tells them about an auction of Audrey Hepburn’s clothes and memorabilia. At the auction, Gemma connects with a wealthy boy named Dusty who is also a follower of her blog, and he ends up purchasing her one of Audrey’s iconic dresses. But after ditching her friends for Dusty, Gemma is left asking herself some hard questions about integrity, including, is this what Audrey would do? Gemma is correct in informing readers that if they have watched the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, “the rest of this story will make a lot more sense,” but it’s not a necessity.
Any teen who’s ever dreamed big or worshipped a star from afar will relate to this lightweight but nonetheless enchanting novel about identity and self-worth. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1223-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.
For two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience.
On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior—and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery—not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. Characters follow a White default.
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30667-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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