A heartfelt and emotional queer romance with a fresh paranormal twist.
Not even death can stop the love between two 16-year-old girls in Brighton, England, when one becomes a grim reaper.
Ashana Persaud, an Indo-Guyanese British girl, attends Whitehawk, a state school with a bad reputation. White redhead Poppy Morgan goes to posh Roedean. They meet when both are on school trips and hit it off right away, falling in love and planning their future. But when Ash dies on New Year’s Eve, she transforms into a grim reaper, working alongside two other teenage grim reapers to lead newly departed souls to Charon and his boat. They must avoid anyone they knew when they were alive, and they can only be seen in their previous, living forms by people who are about to die. Ash desperately wants to see Poppy again, but when she finally does, Poppy recognizes her. Ash’s new goal becomes to save Poppy from her impending fate even as the pair relish this second chance. The novel is split into two main sections, “Before” and “After.” Both are compelling, although they feel disjointed as readers meet several new characters in the latter half while Ash’s friends and family from the first part are sidelined. Still, it’s the romance that drives the story, and Ash and Poppy are so full of heart. Their feelings for each other are big and overwhelming, and this is an endearing and realistic representation of first love.
A heartfelt and emotional queer romance with a fresh paranormal twist. (Paranormal romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-86561-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
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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