A sparkling romance anchored by a poignant coming-of-age story.
A teen girl has one year to break a curse that’s kept generations of her family from experiencing true love.
Vietnamese American Valentina Tran loved Valentine’s Day until freshman year, when her handcrafted cards were mocked by classmates, and her father told her she was too old to still be making annual valentines on behalf of her long-dead mother. Then, during a surprise visit, her estranged paternal grandmother revealed a devastating family secret. Suddenly, Valentina’s invisible childhood companion, a sweet cupid she’d always called Saint V, transformed into an ominous specter, Saint Valentine. Now, two years later, a jaded Valentina suffers through a disastrous date, the revelation of another family secret, and Saint Valentine’s return. The spirit demands that she give up her heart forever to avoid the pain of loss; inspired by the spark she felt with a lion dancer at the Têt new year festival, Valentina bargains for a year to fall in love. Set against the backdrop of Oakland, California’s rich Asian American community, Valentina’s quest is full of swoony moments that will satisfy romance readers, while her fearless journey of personal growth will win over everyone else. Full-color spreads effectively use a range of color schemes to shift readers between past and present, realistic and supernatural, and are most impressive when capturing the frenetic energy of the lion dances. Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean words are woven throughout the text.
A sparkling romance anchored by a poignant coming-of-age story. (Graphic romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781250908261
Page Count: 352
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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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