Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

The scandals of 16th-century English royalty pale next to the political drama of 21st-century high school students in this fictionalized version of Lancaster, Indiana.Annie Marck, aka Cleves (so called because she's from Cleveland), and homecoming king Henry are BFFs (who dated for 15 days, making her girlfriend No. 4) and adrenaline junkies who have decided to embark on the ultimate senior year. Henry's dating history isn't without its setbacks. First, girlfriend No. 2, Anna Boleyn, died while allegedly trying to kill him; later, Katie Howard (No. 5 and Anna's cousin) dies after Henry discovers she's been cheating with football player Tom Culpeper. Cleves has a hard time believing he's a murderer, but the evidence is piling up. Like his historical counterpart, Henry lives by a code of double standards, especially when it comes to cheating and number of girlfriends (six in two years). Also like Henry VIII, shallow and self-absorbed high school Henry isn't easy to love. Witty narrator Cleves is a feminist force, lambasting slut-shaming and calling out her female classmates' internalized misogyny. Readers who like mapping real-life figures onto fictional counterparts will read with Wikipedia open. Cleves was adopted from China and her sister from Malawi; otherwise, whiteness is assumed.So much fun. (Fiction. 13-adult)

ALA Booklist (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

When Annie Marck, aka Cleveland, aka Cleves, first met Henry, he was a future politician sickeningly in love with his longtime girlfriend, Lina. Fast-forward almost two years, and Henry's on girlfriend number six, uptight newspaper maven Cat Parr, and everything's been blown, somewhat literally, to hell. Girlfriend five was life-of-the-party Katie Howard; four was, well, Cleves; and three was seriously basic Jane Seymour. And number two? That was Anna Boleyn, the girl who broke up Henry and Lina. The girl everyone hates. The girl who blew up a building d herself en things went south. While they're with Henry, these girls are queens. But now two of them are dead. And Cleves is going to find out why. Clever nods to English history are woven throughout this teen drama. It's difficult to work sixteenth-century motivations into a contemporary story line, but Capin mostly manages to create a crafty, compelling debut. Moments where it slips into melodrama are forgivable ese are Tudors, after all. A gripping, history-based mystery that finds its footing among a group of determined, very different girls.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

The scandals of 16th-century English royalty pale next to the political drama of 21st-century high school students in this fictionalized version of Lancaster, Indiana.Annie Marck, aka Cleves (so called because she's from Cleveland), and homecoming king Henry are BFFs (who dated for 15 days, making her girlfriend No. 4) and adrenaline junkies who have decided to embark on the ultimate senior year. Henry's dating history isn't without its setbacks. First, girlfriend No. 2, Anna Boleyn, died while allegedly trying to kill him; later, Katie Howard (No. 5 and Anna's cousin) dies after Henry discovers she's been cheating with football player Tom Culpeper. Cleves has a hard time believing he's a murderer, but the evidence is piling up. Like his historical counterpart, Henry lives by a code of double standards, especially when it comes to cheating and number of girlfriends (six in two years). Also like Henry VIII, shallow and self-absorbed high school Henry isn't easy to love. Witty narrator Cleves is a feminist force, lambasting slut-shaming and calling out her female classmates' internalized misogyny. Readers who like mapping real-life figures onto fictional counterparts will read with Wikipedia open. Cleves was adopted from China and her sister from Malawi; otherwise, whiteness is assumed.So much fun. (Fiction. 13-adult)