A heady, page-flipping romance.
Skylar’s post-graduation mission to get out of tiny Creek View, California, is sidetracked by her mom’s downward spiral into alcohol abuse and by hot hunk Josh Mitchell’s return from a tour in Afghanistan minus a leg.
A collage artist intent on getting to San Francisco State, Skylar’s home situation is both motivation to go and a ball and chain that keeps her from leaving. Skylar’s two besties, Chris and Dylan, are unable to help. Chris is busy hankering after Dylan when he’s not focusing on college in Boston in the fall, and Dylan’s baby is taking up almost as much of her time as his daddy, Jesse, does. Part-time work at the Paradise Motel believably brings Josh and Skylar together to connect and flirt, observed by their beloved and unbelievably undemanding boss. Ominous moody moments contrast with the happy, soaring—and steamy—times, and of course they are followed by the inevitable, completely devastating low. Demetrios (Something Real, 2014) again focuses on timely issues, interspersing Skylar’s account with short chapters in Josh’s anguished voice that relive his painful wartime memories. Skylar is almost preternaturally naïve, an abstemious virgin surrounded by hard-partying, foulmouthed, slur-slinging classmates all too conscious of their limited futures and all too willing to try to forget it temporarily with bad sex.
A heady, page-flipping romance. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9795-5
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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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