An absorbing, well-drawn read about a meaningful friendship and growing passion.
Sloane McKinney finds herself unexpectedly filming a teen reality dating show, vying for the affection of a popular actor while questioning her changing feelings for her best friend, Liam Daniels.
It’s the summer before her senior year, and Sloane is leaving Knoxville, Tennessee, to spend the break with Liam and his TV producer father at their home in Los Angeles. Eager to fill an empty slot on his newest reality dating project, Liam’s father bribes Sloane with assistance getting into a screenwriting program if she participates—and makes it into the top four out of the 25 contestants. She agrees but finds herself confused about her feelings for Liam, who is on set as a production assistant, when she should be vying for the attention of handsome actor Aspen Woods, the star of Aspen Woods’s Future Leading Lady or AWFLL, as Liam likes to think of it. Each chapter alternates between Sloane’s and Liam’s first-person perspectives. The attraction between the two simmers in just the right way, and the scenes showing their genuine connection and interest in each other are highlights of the book. Some events are a bit hard to believe, but readers won’t get too hung up on these plot points. The star of this story is Sloane and Liam’s deep friendship and budding romance. Central characters are presumed White.
An absorbing, well-drawn read about a meaningful friendship and growing passion. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-48370-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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
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