A delightful teen romance about building robots—and new futures.
Opposites attract in this YA debut starring high school engineers.
Uncertain of her future post-graduation, Isabel Maier, who is Filipino and White and a transfer student at Essex Academy for Art, Science, and Technology, is reluctant to apply to colleges or think about choosing a major. Despite procrastinating on a catapult assignment, she reveals her gift for engineering design. Bel’s teacher encourages her to switch to AP physics and try out for the robotics team. Jewish and Mexican robotics (and soccer) team captain Mateo Luna is determined to get early admission to MIT and win this year’s national high school robotics competition. Impressed by Bel’s egg-drop design during tryouts, Teo selects her as their newest teammate, much to everyone’s surprise, including Bel’s. From the get-go, Bel is overlooked by her male cohorts, who depend heavily on Teo’s leadership; teammate Neelam—the only other girl on the team—immediately dislikes her; and even Teo seems to regret his decision as they clash over ideas. Farol Follmuth’s nuanced and honest characterizations remind readers that everyone has the capacity for change. As Teo and Bel’s relationship blooms from teammates to something more, Teo becomes fully aware of his privileged upbringing and the gender bias among his peers, and Bel learns to be a better team player while also standing up for herself. The message is clear: Women deserve to take up space in the STEM world too.
A delightful teen romance about building robots—and new futures. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-5010-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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