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YOU AND ME ON REPEAT

A science-fiction romance grounded by human emotion and personal triumph.

Two former friends in River Meadows, Illinois, find themselves trapped in a graduation day time loop.

Chris O’Brien is stuck: He’s forced to relive his high school graduation day over and over again. The varsity swimmer, who reads white, believes that if he can orchestrate the perfect first kiss with the girl he likes, Miranda “Andy” Feldman, then he’ll rejoin the normal timeline. The only person who can help him escape the loop is childhood friend Alicia Ochoa, yearbook editor and valedictorian of River West’s class of 2025—but Chris hurt her feelings when he ditched her in favor of a new friend group in middle school. Mexican American Alicia has been repeating graduation day for almost a year, creating viral videos, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and caring for her four younger siblings. The teens must face what the future holds for them, along with new feelings that emerge as they navigate life on repeat together. Jane Ido-Cantor, Chris’ teacher and swim coach, died in a car accident before graduation day, a tragedy that brings an element of solemnity to the story, balancing the humorous and lighthearted moments. The expressive illustrations use monochromatic color schemes; blue denotes flashbacks, while the time-loop scenes rotate through the colors of the rainbow. Thoughtful character development and the exploration of larger questions of grief and identity take center stage over the technical details of the timeline’s mechanics.

A science-fiction romance grounded by human emotion and personal triumph. (Graphic science fiction. 13-18)

Pub Date: May 13, 2025

ISBN: 9781250851840

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025

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POWERLESS

From the Powerless Trilogy series , Vol. 1

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.

The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.

Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023

ISBN: 9798987380406

Page Count: 538

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023

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A STUDY IN DROWNING

From the Study in Drowning series , Vol. 1

A dark and gripping feminist tale.

A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.

When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.

A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023

ISBN: 9780063211506

Page Count: 384

Publisher: HarperTeen

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023

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