A joy.
A fairy-tale twist on expectations.
Beau is a thief. After the black-haired Spaniard’s good looks get him into the good graces of rich women, his robber band swoops in to monopolize on his ill-gotten insider knowledge. Their last job went sideways, and as the group rides for their lives through the woods in France, they stumble upon a castle, imposing and empty, with a feast laid out in the great hall. All too soon, a wolflike monster attacks, and as the men flee, the bridge—which is the only way out—collapses, leaving a terrified Beau behind. The castle is not abandoned, after all, but is filled with servants, a court of odd ladies-in-waiting, and, at their head, a beautiful woman named Lady Arabella. Beau needs to escape to help his sick brother, but he’s intrigued by some sort of secret—maybe even magic?—at the heart of this castle. Plus, blond, gray-eyed Arabella is beautiful when she’s not in a temper. With this gender-swapped “Beauty and the Beast,” Donnelly has crafted an absorbing fairy-tale retelling. Each of the main characters is complicated, possessing good intentions that have been buried thanks to harsh circumstances. The main pleasure of this book, aside from the witty dialogue and the delightful suspense of the slowly unfurling mystery, comes from witnessing two lost souls finding each other and becoming better people for it. Ultimately, this story is about learning to love oneself, despite what society has deemed “beastly.”
A joy. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781338809442
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
