A compelling portrait of the intimacies of close girl friendships and young love.
Dana—poor, white, and from a troubled home—knows she has no real prospects for a life outside of her small Georgia town.
Dana doesn’t mind living in the shadow of her best friend, Olivia, also white. Olivia is the special one, and Dana happily plays the role of supporter and caregiver, talking Olivia out of stage fright and monitoring her eating. When Dana accompanies Olivia to try out for Guy Monroe’s new girl group, neither takes it seriously when the white pop mogul himself asks Dana to perform. Both are shocked when they are each offered a place in the four-piece ensemble. When the girls of Daisy Chain move in together in Orlando, tensions quickly mount. Dana, untrained, struggles to keep up with the others, who have been performing since childhood. She tries to avoid the undeniable chemistry igniting between her and Olivia’s crush, a member of Guy’s boy-band project. Set in the late 1990s, the narrative is well-paced, with authentic dialogue among the racially diverse supporting characters and all-white leads. Dana’s honest, self-aware, past-tense narration recounts her navigation of her changing friendship with Olivia, the harsh realities of the music business, and a romance as hot as the midsummer Orlando sun, ultimately finding her own path to success.
A compelling portrait of the intimacies of close girl friendships and young love. (Historical fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-241827-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Several yards short of a touchdown.
A transgender boy starting over at a new school falls hard for a popular cheerleader with a reputation to protect in this debut.
On the first day of senior year, transgender boy Pony locks eyes with cisgender cheerleader Georgia. They both have pasts they want to leave behind. No one at Hillcrest High knows that Pony is transgender, and he intends to keep it that way. Georgia’s last boyfriend shook her trust in boys, and now she’s determined to forget him. As mutual attraction draws them together, Pony and Georgia must decide what they are willing to risk for a relationship. Pony’s best friend, Max, who is also transgender, disapproves of Pony’s choice to live stealth; this disagreement leads to serious conflict in their relationship. Meanwhile, Georgia and Pony behave as if Pony’s trans identity was a secret he was lying to her about rather than private information for him to share of his own volition. The characters only arrive at a hopeful resolution after Pony pays high physical and emotional prices. McSmith places repeated emphasis on the born-in-the-wrong-body narrative when the characters discuss trans identities. Whiteness is situated as the norm, and all main characters are white.
Several yards short of a touchdown. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294317-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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