A delightful, richly characterized slow-burn romance about figuring out what you want.
A neurodivergent STEM nerd convinces her emo classmate to tutor her in romance so she can get back together with her ex-boyfriend.
Marlowe Meadows’ senior year starts with the unwelcome confirmation that Josh, her golden-boy boyfriend, has dumped her for being bad at love. Determined to show her ex that she can do better, Marlowe seeks help from Ashton Hayes, her A.P. English project partner, the school’s pierced goth band frontman who moved to their Georgia town junior year. Since Ash has written dreamy song lyrics and works at a romance bookstore, Marlowe believes he’s uniquely positioned to teach her about love. In exchange for help writing four letters, practical lessons in datelike settings, and weekly romance novel reading assignments, Marlowe will revamp Ash’s band’s “crappy” website and update their social media presence. As the tutoring progresses, Marlowe’s supportive, super-smart best friends, Odette and Poppy, also start attending Ash’s band rehearsals, reading romance books, and encouraging her to embrace her potential new love interest. Kaylor thoughtfully portrays Marlowe’s nuanced character growth and weaves a moving subplot about how Marlowe believes autism has affected her relationship with her seemingly perfect mother and younger sister. Ash is irresistibly kind, charismatic, and loving. The story includes authentically described neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ characters; Marlowe and Ash are cued white.
A delightful, richly characterized slow-burn romance about figuring out what you want. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: June 18, 2024
ISBN: 9781250908681
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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