ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

It's taken Molly Barlow a long time to get over everything that happened last summer. Her tangled relationships with the two Donnelly brothers made her one of the most reviled people in her hometown. College in Boston was supposed to be a fresh start, but the transition was tough for Molly, for a lot of reasons that mostly involved Gabe Donnelly. Finally, though, Molly has moved on with her life, jetting off for a romantic European summer vacation with Ian, her practically perfect new boyfriend. But fate steps in to bring Molly face-to-face with Gabe, on a European adventure of his own with his new girlfriend, and the past Molly has tried so hard to keep buried might just resurface. Molly has matured quite a bit since 99 Days (2015), and readers will be thrilled to see her story come full circle. Frank discussions about abortion and the stigmatization of female sexuality combine with the irresistible Euro-trip motif for a sequel that's just as compulsively readable as the first.

Horn Book (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Young Zora Neale Hurston and her friend Carrie (Zora and Me) are pulled into another mystery involving their tight-knit African American community in Eatonville, Florida. The main narrative, set in 1903, alternates with that of a girl enslaved on a Florida plantation in 1855. Their stories merge with a heart-stopping climactic scene. Simon's suspenseful plot moves briskly even as it folds in profound, timely, and important themes. Reading list, timeline.

Kirkus Reviews (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

After the unfortunate events of 99 Days (2015), Molly Barlow has spent the past year molding herself into someone she thinks other people will like.Now it's the summer before her sophomore year at Boston University, and she's spending nine days in Europe with Ian, her boyfriend of five months. Things are going well: Bookish Ian is funny and sweet and has just told Molly he loves her (in the Tower of London, of all places). It's the perfect holiday! Then, there he is, on a platform on the Underground—Gabe, Molly's ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately for Molly, mega-extrovert Ian does the worst thing possible: He invites Gabe and his girlfriend to travel with them. Molly, who used to be more impulsive, has been trying to erase that part of herself—the part that got her into so much trouble back home—by carefully scheduling every moment of the trip. However, as old emotions bubble to the surface and she tries to ignore her lingering feelings for Gabe, Molly will have to learn that in order to be her best self, she doesn't have to erase who she really is. With the exception of Molly's brown-skinned college roommate (who appears briefly in flashbacks), everyone appears to be white.For fans of the previous book who want to know whether Molly finds happiness. (Fiction. 13-adult)