April 15, 2022
A teen who has sworn off love falls for a hopelessly romantic co-worker. Zyla's parents were high school sweethearts but divorced when Zyla was a kid because of her dad's frequent infidelity. This betrayal--and her mother's subsequent heartbreak and failed relationships--has turned Zyla into a cynic. She has sworn off dating and romance, instead focusing on getting into fashion design school. Kai's parents met in college, and it was love at first sight. After they were killed in a car accident, Kai moved in with his maternal aunt and uncle (who was his father's best friend), and the two of them are models for being true partners. With these relationships as his guiding light, Kai dates a lot--unsuccessfully--in an attempt to find his special person. After an incident with an ex, Kai is forbidden from dating so he can focus on getting into Morehouse. But when Zyla and Kai are assigned to work together at their amusement park jobs, sparks fly--and they must decide if they are willing to break the rules to see what could be. A mystery at the start of the book is a confusing launch point into the story, and the narrative moves clunkily between past and present, but the portrayal of Kai's grief therapy is excellent, and patient readers will be rewarded with the sweetest happily-ever-after. Most characters are Black. A first love story with all the feels. (Romance. 12-18)
COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from May 16, 2022
Black 17-year-olds and southern New Jerseyans Zyla Matthews and Kai Jones are polar opposites. Zyla, who doesn’t date to avoid repeating her now-divorced parents’ mistakes, is singularly focused on her dream of studying fashion abroad; hopeless romantic Kai plans on attending Morehouse College while steering clear of his capricious ex-girlfriend. After getting paired up at their amusement park jobs, Zyla initially rejects Kai’s advances—and though Kai himself is forbidden to date until graduation after an incident with his ex, the teens easily shift from friends to lovers, embarking on a whirlwind romance before mysteriously breaking up a few months later. Their
classmates and families are soon shocked to learn that, while on their senior trip to the Poconos, the two have supposedly run away together. Using alternating past and present narratives, Forest (Now That I’ve Found You) artfully blends Zyla and Kai’s story of star-crossed lovers with the slowly unfurling mystery of their departure. Populated by a compassionate, fully fleshed-out cast, variously queer characters, and depictions of loving blended Black families, this joyous novel excels in its heartfelt portrayals of open communication, mental health prioritization, devastating heartbreak, and tender first love. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties.
July 29, 2022
Grades 10-12 Forest (Now That I've Found You, 2020) delivers an emotionally mature and reflective contemporary romantic novel with her latest. When Zyla and Kai--once inseparable but now exes--disappear from a senior-class trip to an amusement park, their caregivers and friends are left to wonder why they've run away and where they've gone. Interludes set in the present serve as brief but in-depth side character sketches, while main chapters describe Zyla and Kai's history, beginning with their start as coworkers at a balloon-popping booth. While the plot follows tropes and conflicts that are well tread in contemporary romantic fiction, the mystery surrounding the pair's ultimate split and questions about their joint disappearance will draw readers toward the end. The cast, which is mainly Black, diversifies its characters through different family structures, incomes, interests, sexual orientations, and more. Hopeless romantics who enjoy angst and self-reflection will relish this story of miscommunication. Fans of Elise Bryant won't want to miss this tale of first love gone awry.
COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from September 1, 2022
Gr 7 Up-A sweet, funny, and heartfelt story about falling in and out of love, and what happens next. Zyla is cynical about love, having grown up watching her mother's roller-coaster love life. Her goal is to work on her fashion portfolio and land a spot studying design in Paris. Kai's parents died when he was nine, and ever since he's been working to be the perfect son to his aunt and uncle. He's also a serial monogamist. These two apparent opposites meet while working at an amusement park, and friendship turns to mutual longing and then to a relationship. While their falling in love forms most of the story, it is all told in flashback from the present, on the day that Zyla and Kai, who may or may not have broken up, seem to have run away from a senior class trip. The knowledge that their relationship will unravel lends stakes and adds tension. The story is told mainly from the lovers' points of view, with some chapters from the POV of their family members and friends, building up a whole community of interesting, layered characters, including Zyla's BFF Beatrice, who is bisexual and in an open relationship, as well as Beatrice's mother, who is also bisexual. Zyla and Kai's blended families are supportive and loving; the story emphasizes the importance of emotional honesty, including going to therapy. Zyla, Kai, and their best friends Jamal and Beatrice are all Black, as are their parents and guardians. VERDICT A charming, eminently readable love story with relatable characters sure to appeal to fans of romances by Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon.-Ann Foster
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.