A somewhat cliched but sweet summer romance for teen readers who enjoy a sprinkling of magic.
A young woman spends her summer learning several critical life lessons in Keating’s YA novel.
Callista Stockton is 18, freshly graduated from high school in Arkansas, and off to spend the summer living and working with her best friend, Becca, on Wellington Island, Florida. Calli’s confidence was obliterated in 10th grade when her crush asked her to homecoming and then ditched her for the prettiest girl in school. On Wellington Island, Calli immediately meets Jake Dawson, a gorgeous 19-year-old who seems to be interested—but Calli has her doubts. Wanting the summer to be different, she finds herself cast into the path of Mathias Soria, a vendor at the island market who gives her a temporary butterfly tattoo. Calli can hardly believe her luck when, the next day, she wakes up and is suddenly a stunner. Becca tells her, “You’re like beautiful…I mean, I’ve always thought of you as pretty, but wow, you are gorgeous. Dang!” The changed teen soon catches the attention of the Wellington family, who offer her a job modeling for their fashion business, Beach Beauty. As the magical tattoo pushes Calli’s looks beyond anything she thought possible, a rift forms between her and her friends, who liked her just as she was. Readers will be hooked on Calli’s dilemma: Should she remain outwardly beautiful or true to herself? Everything comes to an entertaining head during Calli’s soul-searching trip back home to Arkansas. Keating’s storytelling is fun, although the delivery is a little too obvious in places, like when Calli becomes annoyingly vain. Still, the novel capably limns the insecurities of coming of age, and the portrayal of first love and learning to be comfortable in one’s own skin will consistently engross readers.
A somewhat cliched but sweet summer romance for teen readers who enjoy a sprinkling of magic.Pub Date: June 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781957656557
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C.
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
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