Sweet and engaging.
A boy dares his friend to kiss a stranger—and it leads somewhere interesting.
Rosy-cheeked, redheaded Sara Lin’s 18th birthday comes with a bet: Since she’s never been kissed, Patrick, one of her best friends, dares her to kiss a stranger they see on the subway. The guy is cute, with a shock of blond hair, but he rejects her, calling her a weirdo. That was embarrassing enough, but Sara Lin later sees him entering her apartment building, and because she’s failing calculus, her teacher arranges for a student to tutor her—and it’s Oliver Yang, the guy who rejected her. At least he doesn’t seem to recognize her, which makes the situation a tiny bit less mortifying. It’s not like she’s into him, anyway; Sara Lin likes new classmate Joe, enough that she agrees to more bets in order to get closer to him. As the bets pile up, Sara Lin has to face the boys in her life and all the things they’re keeping from her. With humor and lively banter, these believable teens navigate their emotions with authenticity. This graphic novel is illustrated in a soft color palette using a style that’s both adorable and expressive, at times making characters resemble emojis. Sara Lin is an extremely likable main character, and the ending will leave readers excited for Volume 2. The ethnically ambiguous characters, most of whom are light-skinned, live in an unspecified urban setting.
Sweet and engaging. (Graphic romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781998341146
Page Count: 288
Publisher: WEBTOON Unscrolled
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
