This teen-love not-quite-trifle demonstrates that between the lines resides truth about perception, others, and most...
Her family’s move to the wrong side of the tracks feels like a devastating fall from grace for Ivy.
Her parents hid their financial struggles until the announcement that they are selling everything, including Ivy’s beloved piano, and moving to the poor side of town. Ivy goes to great lengths to hide this change from her rich friends. The strain is enormous, as Ivy, her parents, and her twin siblings are forced to rely on the charity of food banks. Additionally, she finds it loathsome that the guy next door, Lennie, with tattoos and a bad reputation, is making overtures of friendship. Enter the gorgeous new boy in high school, James. In a betrayal of Ivy’s smitten best friend, they strike up a secret friendship, leaving special notes to each other contained within their favorite books. Of course, nothing is quite as it seems. Ivy must face her shallowness and apparent lack of ability to do simple deductive reasoning, as she continues to confuse which potential love interest is doing what. Were it not for Ivy’s emotionally complex relationship with her little brother, who has a seizure disorder, this would languish as a nice but typical romance in which the girl must choose between two, very disparate knights in shining armor.
This teen-love not-quite-trifle demonstrates that between the lines resides truth about perception, others, and most importantly oneself. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: June 16, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-229172-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Several yards short of a touchdown.
A transgender boy starting over at a new school falls hard for a popular cheerleader with a reputation to protect in this debut.
On the first day of senior year, transgender boy Pony locks eyes with cisgender cheerleader Georgia. They both have pasts they want to leave behind. No one at Hillcrest High knows that Pony is transgender, and he intends to keep it that way. Georgia’s last boyfriend shook her trust in boys, and now she’s determined to forget him. As mutual attraction draws them together, Pony and Georgia must decide what they are willing to risk for a relationship. Pony’s best friend, Max, who is also transgender, disapproves of Pony’s choice to live stealth; this disagreement leads to serious conflict in their relationship. Meanwhile, Georgia and Pony behave as if Pony’s trans identity was a secret he was lying to her about rather than private information for him to share of his own volition. The characters only arrive at a hopeful resolution after Pony pays high physical and emotional prices. McSmith places repeated emphasis on the born-in-the-wrong-body narrative when the characters discuss trans identities. Whiteness is situated as the norm, and all main characters are white.
Several yards short of a touchdown. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294317-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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