Next book

SWAY

A compelling debut told with swagger and real depth.

Everybody knows Jesse, aka “Sway.” For the right price or a later favor, Jesse will get you want you want, but he’ll also acquire power over you.

He sells drugs and fake IDs, acquires kegs for parties and might even be able to persuade a girl to date a guy. Since his mother’s suicide over a year ago, Jesse hasn’t bothered with his own emotions. But when he meets the beautiful and almost saintly Bridget, he begins to realize that he might actually have some feelings after all. He gets to know her in order to advise bully Ken on how to get a date with her, making Jesse something of a “fucked-up Cyrano de Bergerac,” as he himself notes. Along the way, he teams up with Bridget’s little brother, Pete, who has cerebral palsy, introducing the boy to his world of schemes. Even as he grows fonder of Bridget, he still doesn’t believe he could have a real romance with her, or with anyone. Spears develops Jesse’s character so thoroughly readers will believe they know him. Despite his illegality and immorality, he remains sympathetic, revealing his hidden emotions as he forms real friendships with Pete and with an elderly man he meets while spying on Bridget.

A compelling debut told with swagger and real depth. (Fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-250-05143-1

Page Count: 320

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014

Next book

IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

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

Next book

NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES

From the Better Than the Movies series , Vol. 2

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

Close Quickview