Rife with witticism, like a finely honed sitcom, and brimming with heart.
The summer before senior year, Sophie falls for a new neighbor and campaigns for a country music star to help raise money for the school band.
Sophie Kemper loves her small hometown of Acadia, Illinois. Though she’s focused on college applications, she can’t help wondering why anyone would want to leave. School band is her thing, and as the next president of the fundraising committee, it’s her responsibility to get them to the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. Sophie hatches a plan to raise money by persuading Megan Pleasant, country singer and lone famous person from Acadia, to perform at the fall festival. At the same time, she finds herself falling for August Shaw, the mysterious new boy who is staying with the family she babysits for down the street. They instantly click, exchanging clever banter and bonding over their blended families. But August won’t let Sophie in, and the sister she desperately misses disappoints her. Even her once-tight friendship group begins to splinter. On top of everything, Megan Pleasant seems to have deserted Acadia for good. Teeming with witty exchanges and realistic but heady drama, Sophie’s summer is easy to sink into. Though the romance is electric, it’s the relationships with her friends that really sing. Sophie and August are assumed white; there is some ethnic and sexual orientation diversity.
Rife with witticism, like a finely honed sitcom, and brimming with heart. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-17963-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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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