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TECHNICALLY, YOU STARTED IT

Johnson’s clever debut speaks to Generation Z’s cyberculture by validating online friendships.

Haley Hancock has been texting Martin Nathaniel Munroe II on the daily…but which Martin is it?

Born just a few days apart, both Martin N. Munroe IIs are named after their famously wealthy grandfather. Haley is confident she knows which Martin is the good one because the other one broke her friend’s heart in the eighth grade. One of the Martins begins texting her outside of the history class all three share, and over time, both are surprised to find their banter enjoyable and comforting. But, believing her negative opinions of one cousin will hinder their friendship, Haley decides to stop messaging him. In response, Martin proposes a solution: start over with a clean slate as if they were strangers who met on the internet. By connecting only via cellphone, Haley and Martin find it easy to be honest and vulnerable about all aspects of their lives, including family and friends. The two open up to each other about questions of sexual orientation, and Haley also confides in Martin about her generalized anxiety disorder. Told entirely in chat conversations, the potentially perplexing narrative will be understood by readers who are accustomed to communicating online and reading deeply into text messages. The format does not make space for physical descriptions, and most characters are assumed white.

Johnson’s clever debut speaks to Generation Z’s cyberculture by validating online friendships. (Fiction. 12-18)

Pub Date: June 25, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-338-33546-0

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: March 23, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019

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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

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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

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