Fast-paced, cinematic action paired with a heartfelt love story.
A teen girl breaks the gender barrier to join the ranks of superheroes and battles to save the world.
In Comerford’s duology opener, The Love Interest (2024), Jenna Ray discovered she’d acquired the ability to control water and exposed King Ron, the corrupt head of the British Heroics and Power Authority. But there are many in the media who think he should still be in charge. The new head of the HPA, Mia (who uses they/them pronouns), is determined to improve the organization, starting with recruiting Jenna as “the first female hero.” However, when Jenna has a terrifying incident in which she loses control of her powers and causes catastrophic damage, Ron reaches out to her from prison, claiming that she’s being possessed by the EV, a force that powers all the heroes, and only he can help her. This entry introduces a range of new heroes from around the world, who join the well-drawn cast of central characters and add depth to the worldbuilding. Jenna’s forbidden to date a fellow hero per the HPA rules, making her relationship with Laurie Lin aka Blaze—the boy who rescued her, putting her in the public eye—humorously complicated. The nonstop action is incredibly fun, and clever jokes combined with swoony, tender moments between Laurie and Jenna make this adventure a real page-turner. Jenna is Black, and the earlier book established Laurie as Chinese and white.
Fast-paced, cinematic action paired with a heartfelt love story. (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781547617234
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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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