Reviews for The breakup artists

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Enterprising teens moonlight as relationship assassins. For the past two years, 18-year-old best friends August Mariani and Valentine Sharma have been successfully running their business, Summer Love, Inc., which specializes in breaking up toxic teen relationships at the request of concerned parents and friends. Business is booming, and, with dreams of affording Berkeley in the fall, the duo accept their most challenging—and potentially lucrative—case yet. The Beckers need August and Tiny to orchestrate a breakup between their daughter, Ella, and her controlling boyfriend, Justin, in less than four weeks. Pretending to be cousins, they infiltrate the inner circle of Ella’s prep school friends with a plan to help her see Justin for what he truly is and to realize she deserves better. But as August and Ella connect, the walls he’s carefully constructed after the death of his sister start to crumble—and suddenly, business gets a lot more personal. Not that he can tell Tiny, who for the first time is keeping secrets of her own. Told in alternating perspectives, the plot suffers from an occasional identity crisis; the two storylines don’t always flow harmoniously. Still, Mather’s deft hand at developing characters with rich emotional ranges will leave readers smiling through their tears as she explores themes of grief, family, friendship, and love. Most central characters are cued white; Tiny’s stepdad is Indian. Final art not seen. A tender, honest, heartwarming ode to platonic soul mates. (Romance. 13-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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