A pleasant coming-of-age story for fans of teen romance.
Recent high school graduate Julia Ducharme’s summer is off to a rough start.
Her best friend, Paige, is traveling to Japan to visit relatives, her longtime crush has shown up with a gorgeous girlfriend, and her mom has announced that she is thinking of selling their family campground and home. Julia’s little brother Caleb is recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome and is old enough to realize—with distress—that their financial troubles are connected to his long illness. After receiving the terrible news that her home may be sold, Julia meets a beautiful black-haired, olive-skinned stranger on the docks and spills her guts to him. She is shocked and angry to discover that the young man is Nick Constantine, son of the property developer who is looking to buy their campground. Julia and Nick are thrown together, and Nick falls in love both with the campground and Julia, deciding to do all that he can to help them keep their place, or at least keep its integrity intact. Sevigny’s (Kissing Frogs, 2014) portrayal of the emotional and financial struggles that can accompany illness in America ring true. Julia is a brave, independent, and competent female character who shows that you don’t need to be a femme fatale to be lovable.
A pleasant coming-of-age story for fans of teen romance. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77138-929-7
Page Count: 264
Publisher: KCP Loft/Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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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