A clichéd start gives way to a richly drawn world of keenly devised magic. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)
Once meek and tormented by debilitating allergies, a girl is transported to an alternate universe and becomes a staggeringly powerful witch.
Lily Proctor leads a painful life in Salem, Massachusetts, stricken with seizures and responsible for the care of her schizophrenic mother. When her best friend and unrequited love, Tristan, betrays her at a party, Lily finds herself listening to a mysterious voice inside her head that offers a way out. Suddenly, she appears in an unfamiliar version of her town and is greeted as the Lady of Salem. It appears that Lillian, an alternative version of Lily, summoned her from this other Salem. Realizing she can’t trust her doppelganger, Lily flees, stumbling into Rowan, a man once harmed by the true Lady of Salem. Desperate to get back home, Lily unwittingly becomes embroiled in the struggles of new friends. In this Salem, Lily’s fevers give her power. She’s a crucible—able to change heat into force. But to what end will she harness that power? Angelini begins with a trite setup in present time but quickly subverts tropes once Lily arrives in the alternative Salem. Lillian makes for a mostly absent villain, leaving the bulk of the tension to Lily and Rowan. Readers will be swept into the inner workings of crucibles and witches and left eager for more.
A clichéd start gives way to a richly drawn world of keenly devised magic. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-250-05088-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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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