Nineteen-year-old Simon and his boyfriend navigate their first year of college while struggling to maintain their newly long-distance relationship.
In this epistolary novella, Simon Spier is at it again—but now, he’s at Haverford College, and Blue, his boyfriend of two years, is in New York City. As they settle into their new college lives, Simon and Blue, along with Leah, Nick, Abby, Garrett, and Taylor, keep in touch via email in endearing, occasionally gossipy group threads and poignant private conversations. Infused with Albertalli’s signature humor and heart and arranged chronologically (complete with time stamps), topics range from roommates, parties, and classes to identity, agency, and the future. New readers beware: Practically every page contains a spoiler for the preceding novels, including Blue’s name and several other characters’ queer identities. Unfortunately, the individual characters’ voices at times do not feel distinct from one another; nevertheless, fans of the Simonverse will laugh, cry, and swoon over the hilarious and tender exchanges between their favorite characters. The story affirms long-term, long-distance love and friendship, addressing the complicated feelings that come from navigating new environments. Race is never mentioned in this installment; readers of previous books will be aware that the characters are White and Black.
Just as sweet—and sadly, just as fleeting—as a pack of Oreos. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-304812-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2020
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
17
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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A blended family seeks a fresh start in a new home.
Tom’s mother believes that the family may have finally found happiness. After years of dating losers, she’s finally settled down with a nice guy—and that nice guy, Jay, happens to have a daughter, Nia, who is just a little older than Tom. The new family has moved into a nice new house, but Tom can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. They discover a strange message written on the wall when they are stripping the old wallpaper, and there’s clear evidence that the previous owners had installed locks on the exteriors of the bedroom doors. Those previous owners happen to live a little farther down the street, and Tom quickly becomes obsessed with their teenage daughter, Amy, and the secrets she’s hiding. This obsession unfortunately becomes a repetitive slog involving many pages of Tom’s brooding and sulking over the same bits of information while everyone tells him to move on. Readers will be on everyone’s side. But then, a blessed breath of fresh air: The perspective shifts to Amy, and readers learn in spectacularly propulsive fashion exactly what she’s hiding. Regret and intrigue blend perfectly as Amy divulges her secrets. Alas, we return to navel-gazing Tom for the book’s final pages, and everything ends with a shrug. Main characters default to White.
A crackerjack thriller done in by its own dopey protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72823-189-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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