Lakita Wilson

Sparkle follows a 12-year-old named Sparkle as she tries to gain sponsorships for her social media pages while attending an arts school and preparing for that year's school play. After losing some of her hair, she discovers she has a condition called alopecia universalis, and it's causing her to lose all her hair.

I like the themes of self-love and adaptation to change presented throughout this story. It doesn't present it as an easy change, for Sparkle or those around her, and shows both her show more good days and bad. It doesn't shy away from poor self esteem, but it also doesn't try to ignore what is affecting Sparkle's every-day life.

Sparkle's mother is not the best person in my opinion, and I would have liked to see more of a character arc and growth out of her, or at least intentionally showing her flaws as a parent. At times, it seems like she is living vicariously through her children, and her obsession with Sparkle and her sister having beautiful hair definitely contributed to Sparkle's lack of confidence after her diagnosis.

I did, however, enjoy the friendship arcs presented throughout the story. It shows friends coming together in the face of difficulty, the importance of clear and open communication, that people can change over time, and that new friends can always be found no matter the circumstance.

I am excited to start reading some of Wilson's other books! show less

This novel had three romances, friendship problems, neighborhood strife, socioeconomic differences, trying to save a book store, putting together a fashion show, and starring in a reality show, it was so much ground to cover. Perhaps too much?

I really enjoy reading about artistic processes so the prospect of former friends having to work on a fashion collection was what most drew me to this one, however, I was disappointed that this didn’t really show them working together, much of the show more creating seemed to happen off the page, and the fashion wasn’t described as vividly as I’d hoped either. But that’s mostly a personal preference thing, there are probably other readers who will be fine with fewer fashion details.

Also, I guess everyone accomplishes things at different speeds, but it was kind of challenging to buy that these girls, particularly Reya, could be involved in so many other things over the course of this story yet still find the time for all the work that would be required to design and sew a collection.

One of those many things going on for Reya was a romance, they had decent chemistry but since the issue between Reya and her love interest was similar to the issue that busted her friendship with Sommer, I kind of felt like instead of Reya dealing with somewhat the same thing twice, maybe this could have just either delved into the friendship or the romance, not both, and then there would have been time to truly dive into that one relationship instead of spreading both kind of thin.

It’s sort of the same deal with Sommer, not only did she have the rift with Reya, she had two love interests, and since backgrounds/financial situations featured in all three relationships, I ended up thinking that maybe if this had gone all in on just one of those relationships instead of sort of skimming the surface on all three I might have felt a bit more emotionally invested.

The dynamic between Reya and her mom, and the untapped possibilities of ex-friends having to collaborate on a creative project stood out to me as the parts of this novel I wish had been explored more, but really most of the story threads here had potential, it was just a matter of needing to zero in on only a couple of them rather than trying to squeeze in everything. show less

Asenior tries to get over an unexpected breakup by participating in her high school’s end-of-school dance for unfulfilled crushes.

With only three weeks left before graduation, Leila Bean is shattered when Dev Rajan, her boyfriend since freshman year, suddenly dumps her despite their previous plans to keep dating in college. Bree, Leila’s best friend, encourages her to sign up for Baldwin High’s Last Chance Dance, which matches seniors with up to three former crushes they never show more dated—if the interest is reciprocated—so they can decide whom to ask to their final dance. Leila, a Black bisexual girl, is surprised when she’s set up with all three of her picks: super fit social media influencer Kai, charismatic activist Mason, and beautiful book-loving Eva. There’s also an unwelcome, algorithm-chosen wild-card match: her snarky lab partner and nemesis, Tre’. Leila agrees to give each of her matches a chance except for Tre’, who she initially refuses to believe is a serious contender—until she realizes he’s more than just a class clown. Wilson’s part breakup tale, part rom-com isn’t just about falling in and out of love; it’s also a story about Leila’s rediscovering herself in the face of loss, learning from her mistakes, and giving people a chance to redeem themselves. Set in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a prosperous, predominantly Black suburb of Washington, D.C., the story mostly centers Black characters; Dev is Indian American, and Mason is White.

A charming and hopeful story about life post-heartbreak. (Fiction. 12-18)

-Kirkus Review show less