An engaging, focused romantic thriller that will pull in reluctant readers.
A 16-year-old is drawn to a mysterious guy when she is packed off to a last-resort reform camp by her social worker.
Adele is a good kid who has struggled with little family support, and she just wants to get through the next two weeks at the inanely named Camp Happy after her mother suffers an overdose and goes into an in-patient rehab center. As soon as she arrives Adele encounters fellow camper Fergus, a magnetic loner, and is immediately warned away from him by Andy, who, despite being good-looking and friendly, makes Adele uneasy. Employing accessible vocabulary peppered with realistic teen dialogue and short, fast-paced, plot-driven chapters, the book quickly establishes a connection between Adele and Fergus, who after seeming to appear and disappear at random around camp, helps her find her way in the woods after she reluctantly agrees to attend an illicit bonfire. Adele’s attempts to stay on the straight and narrow due to her desperation to be seen in a good light by her long-absent father will make her sympathetic to readers, and romance fans will appreciate the spark between her and Fergus. As his backstory becomes more central to the story, a solid mystery unfolds. Characters all read as White.
An engaging, focused romantic thriller that will pull in reluctant readers. (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4598-3355-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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