Cute, fresh, and endearing.
A teen baker in Dublin reckons with dreams of baking glory and a new love interest.
Seventeen-year-old Bangladeshi Irish Shireen Malik is going through breakup blues when she finds out she’s made it: She’s going to join the cast of the Junior Irish Baking Show. She’s thrilled about being on reality TV—but it’s a shock to learn that not only is Christina Huang, her ex-girlfriend, on the show as well, but the producers have paired them for the first round. Though Shireen quickly makes a new friend, Niamh Lynch, who may or may not be flirting with her, it’s not going to be easy to be so close to her ex for the duration of the competition. In fact, it just might be the thing that throws her off her game. The pressure builds—Shireen hopes that a win will help You Drive Me Glazy, the family doughnut business, and Chris’ parents own a rival shop, The Bakers Dozen, making things even more personal. Full of culinary puns, the prose flies by with Shireen as the hilariously dramatic lead. Shireen is easy to root for; she’s a fat girl who’s not trying to lose weight, she’s aware of her anxiety and doesn’t let it hold her back, and she’s proud of being queer, brown, and Muslim. Her parents are loving and supportive as well. This joyful read with a cheerful protagonist also explores racism, fatphobia, and mental health with care.
Cute, fresh, and endearing. (content warnings) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781250842114
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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 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
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