April 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 In her latest romance, Reynolds (Eight Nights of Flirting, 2022) shares the story of Jordan's last summer before college on the beautiful island of Nantucket. Jordan has three goals this summer: reunite with her father; swear off dating; and show her dad that she's more capable than Ethan, his research assistant she knows only by reputation, and the bane of her existence. Jordan is jealous of how Ethan always gets her father's attention, and she's determined to show her father the mature, college-bound daughter she is, but all her plans go out the window when the boy she flirted with on the ferry to Nantucket is Ethan himself. During a summer filled with love, parties, family, scientific discovery, social responsibility, and the ever-changing world of adulthood, Jordan finds solace and camaraderie while researching the history of female astronomers and their experiences of being forgotten in the field of discovery. With an enchanting setting, sharp banter, and an emotionally grounded story, Reynolds' novel is sure to sweep teen romance fans off their feet.
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April 1, 2024
Another linked but stand-alone Nantucket romance reunites readers with the Barbanel family. The Jewish Barbanels, like modern-day Bridgertons, provide fodder for any number of romantic adventures; this time they've provided a perfect foil for Jordan Edelman, who wears black lace and fishnets (even on Nantucket) and lives life fully. She flirts hard, falls harder, and cries hardest whenever the inevitable breakup comes. Jordan manages to be both uncomplicated and a muddle of messy emotions: She worries about her single, widowed father and how he'll cope with her impending departure for college, she struggles with resenting the much-lauded Ethan Barbanel (her father's summer research assistant, whom Jordan has never met but feels has taken her place as the perfect child), and she has questions about the late mother she never really knew. After a meet-sexy with a stranger who of course turns out to be Ethan, this novel settles into a story of self-discovery peppered with great banter, a minor historical mystery (an initially exposition-heavy but eventually intriguing narrative about underacknowledged women in STEM), and a lot of Jordan getting out of her own way. The Summer of Lost Letters (2021) established the Barbanels as being Sephardic Jews; less-religious Jordan is implied Ashkenazi. Judaism runs through their lives naturally and without fanfare. Light, sweet, and a little salty: just beachy. (author's note) (Romance. 13-18)
COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
November 8, 2024
Gr 9 Up-Jordan Edelman is spending the summer on Nantucket, trying to connect with her single father, who has been staying on the island conducting historical maritime research for his next book. Having sworn off boys in an attempt to shield her dad from the type of emotional swings that have plagued her past relationships, Jordan is frustrated to find that she shares an intense physical attraction with his research assistant, Ethan Barnabel, whom she also resents for his close relationship with her dad. After Jordan uncovers an old scientific scandal that might undermine her dad and Ethan's research-and compromise their funding source-Jordan learns that leaving things unsaid, in historical research or relationships, will never result in meaningful change. As with other titles in this ongoing series about the large, loving, and wealthy Barnabel family, the book shines when the warm and headstrong family is interacting with each other. Some of the archival research doesn't feel organically integrated into the plot, but Jordan's self-aware and realistic inner-monologue is a strength. Jordan's father's anxiety that he did not allow his daughter to explore their Jewish faith enough after the death of her mother is especially well-drawn. VERDICT A comfy summer romance with STEM themes.-Beth McIntyre
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