Shallow execution mars an intriguing premise.
Lake Devereaux, 17, lost two beloved friends in a horrific accident, but she’s permitted to resurrect just one person, an agonizing choice complicated by a promise made years earlier.
Medical breakthroughs have made human resurrection possible. Regulations for population control provide that on their 18th birthday, each teen may elect to resurrect one dead person, at that time only. Resurrection is possible years after death, the resurrected person resuming life, free of flaws or disease, at the age they were when they died. Lake’s older brother, Matt, was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident four years ago. Embittered, he stopped trying to kill himself only when their parents secured Lake’s promise to resurrect him after a planned suicide. While her dead friends’ parents beg Lake to resurrect one of their children, Matt and her parents remind her she’s already committed. Then, with a boy she meets in a therapist’s waiting room, she uncovers secrets prompting hard questions about her friends, family, and herself (all evidently white). The novel’s best when exploring how resurrecting a loved one transforms individuals, families, and friends. The effect on the larger world remains unexplored. Odd, contradictory resurrection rules go unexplained. Could a resurrected person resurrect another person? Resurrection’s existed for decades yet seems to have effected only minor, local changes. These worldbuilding defects impede what should be provocative explorations of disability and medical ethics.
Shallow execution mars an intriguing premise. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-5024-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
A classic rags-to-riches romantic comedy with irresistible chemistry and heart.
A surprise inheritance thrusts a small-town Nebraska teen into Manhattan’s elite society—and the orbit of a boy who’s determined to prove she doesn’t belong.
Julia Lowell’s life changes overnight when the 80-something man they know as Lou leaves his fortune to her family instead of his New York City relatives. Lou, who lived in a fishing cabin, was a regular customer of the Lowells’ small grocery store and became a family friend. To inherit, they must live in his Upper West Side home for at least six months, and Julia and her twin brother must attend Gardenwood Academy, a Gossip Girl–esque private school. Julia struggles to navigate her rude, privileged classmates—like Damion Rutledge. Unbeknownst to her, Lou—whose real name was Remington—was Damion’s beloved great-uncle. When a teacher assigns Damion to be Julia’s math tutor, he seizes the opportunity to search Uncle Remi’s house, which he believes is his by right, for evidence of the Lowells’ deceit. But as suspicion gives way to genuine feelings, Julia and Damion, who are cued white, question their assumptions about one another. Painter delivers her signature blend of banter, slow-burn chemistry, and emotionally grounded characters. Told in the leads’ alternating points of view, the familiar enemies-to-lovers setup is complicated by Damion’s secret and Julia’s past heartbreak. While the story follows a predictable path and resolution, the central relationship feels earned and heartfelt.
A classic rags-to-riches romantic comedy with irresistible chemistry and heart. (soundtrack) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9798347100217
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
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
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