A solid romance buoyed by engaging protagonists and a charming backdrop.
Teen music stars get romantically involved.
Clay Coolidge is the flashy heartthrob of the Nashville country music scene, content to make songs people drink and hook up to but never saying anything meaningful with his music. Annie Mathers is country music royalty about to embark on her own career five years after her legendary parents tragically died. The teens tour together in an effort to boost Clay’s sales and launch Annie’s career. Managers and record producers push them together as a fake couple, but it doesn’t take long for the artists to spark and spread fire. Annie and Clay bring out the best in each other, building each other up as musicians and people. Their romance is well-plotted and sweetly drawn: Readers (particularly those listening to the recent A Star Is Born soundtrack on repeat) will delight in the story’s rhythm and musical backdrop. The author makes sly observations here and there about the recording industry, but there’s affection here for the uniquely American style of music and the stories that come out of country music culture. The palpable endearment for its setting and characters makes for a warm read. While not thuddingly original, this is still a good ol’ fashioned love story, and there’s something to be said for a song we all know being sung with tenderness and care. All main characters are white and there is some diversity in background characters.
A solid romance buoyed by engaging protagonists and a charming backdrop. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-19288-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Several yards short of a touchdown.
A transgender boy starting over at a new school falls hard for a popular cheerleader with a reputation to protect in this debut.
On the first day of senior year, transgender boy Pony locks eyes with cisgender cheerleader Georgia. They both have pasts they want to leave behind. No one at Hillcrest High knows that Pony is transgender, and he intends to keep it that way. Georgia’s last boyfriend shook her trust in boys, and now she’s determined to forget him. As mutual attraction draws them together, Pony and Georgia must decide what they are willing to risk for a relationship. Pony’s best friend, Max, who is also transgender, disapproves of Pony’s choice to live stealth; this disagreement leads to serious conflict in their relationship. Meanwhile, Georgia and Pony behave as if Pony’s trans identity was a secret he was lying to her about rather than private information for him to share of his own volition. The characters only arrive at a hopeful resolution after Pony pays high physical and emotional prices. McSmith places repeated emphasis on the born-in-the-wrong-body narrative when the characters discuss trans identities. Whiteness is situated as the norm, and all main characters are white.
Several yards short of a touchdown. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294317-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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