Another smart and savvy book to add to Smith’s oeuvre.
Tomorrow Clare and Aidan head to colleges at opposite ends of the country, leaving just 12 hours to decide whether to break up now or, as they fear, to allow distance and change to do it for them—either way, it’s going to be a long night.
Clare, one of nature’s planners, has crafted an agenda for this last night, a sentimental road trip through their past. Easygoing Aidan favors a spontaneous “let’s not overthink this” approach but, as usual, cheerfully accommodates her. As the hours pass, each goes through multiple changes alone, together, and with friends and family. Friendships come unglued, secrets are revealed, and the unexpected occurs. A party, jail, and an icy nighttime swim find their ways onto the itinerary. For Clare and Aidan it’s a literally bruising experience. While theirs is a niche slot in the greater social strata (white, middle-class, small-town teens unburdened by catastrophe or major social ills), the challenges they grapple with are universal: adapting to change, choosing what to keep and what to let go, and taking responsibility for the outcome. Testing the limits and durability of youthful romance across separation and distance is a common theme in Smith’s work, which relies on high-concept storytelling; what keeps it fresh and on the literary side of the genre are engaging, closely observed characters, Clare and Aidan among them, portrayed with such intimate, intense authenticity that readers too feel invested in their choices.
Another smart and savvy book to add to Smith’s oeuvre. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-33442-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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