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The Holloway Girls by Susan Bishop Crispell

What's It About?

The power of the kiss.

A page-turner that will charm you!” ―Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author

“[A] lush tale, full of dramatic moments and themes of sisterhood … Recommend this slow-burning story to readers who enjoy drama and complicated relationships.” ―Booklist

 

Admittedly, it was something I thought of often growing up, so entrenched in the whirlwind of crushes and new love. As a romance author, it’s something that I write, read, and study, because a kiss can be transformative — it changes relationships. It can change oneself. And it is because of this premise that The Holloway Girls (Sourcebooks Fire) by Susan Bishop Crispell grabbed me and didn’t let go until the very last page.

In The Holloway Girls, we’re introduced to Remy and Maggie Holloway, who are sisters with a special kind of power. During their kissing season, which lasts a year after the summer solstice of their 16th birthday, in which they are bestowed with magic, all those they kiss experience good luck. In essence, they are, as Remy describes themselves, “good luck charms.” This magic is generational among the Holloway girls, as annotated in the Book of Luck, along with the season’s rules. 

Remy is ready for her season. In fact, she already knows exactly who she wants to kiss. But in kissing her crush, she ignores one of the season’s rules, almost killing him. Remy believes that not only is her crush cursed, but so is her season, and thereby anyone else she kisses. 

Which proves to be quite inconvenient when a cute new boy moves in next door, and he sees her for more than just that Holloway luck.

BREAKING RULES AND MENDING RELATIONSHIPS

The Holloway Girls isn’t just about breaking the rules and bad luck, but about all the secondary effects of closing oneself off from people. Remy has other relationships that somehow go awry when she convinces herself that she is the harbinger of bad luck. Her relationship with her sister, which is the most important to her above all, suffers while she tries to reverse the curse. Her friendships and her trust for others take a tumble. Remy must go back to the Book of Luck to figure out how to break the curse once and for all.

Told from Remy’s point of view, this novel is equally fast-paced as it is quiet, in which we feel how she adjusts through a season that is unexpectedly turned on its head. She has to navigate the flux of disappointment and excitement and forgiveness and hope all at once. All the while, Remy knows that she has power, and though whether good or bad, she would need to know how to properly yield it. I would have loved to have read this book as a young adult as a reminder that each of us holds something inside ourselves that cannot be taken away. And that knowing all about this power could be the difference in dispensing the good luck, vibes, karma or simple goodness that our world needs.

The Holloway Girls is the magical teen book of the summer. It has everything from summer love to self-discovery and a sparkling hopeful ending. Along with the mention of Remy’s other talent, baking. I couldn’t put down this book. Recommended for the young and the young at heart, and those who believe in the power of the kiss.


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The Holloway Girls by Susan Bishop Crispell
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult
Author: Susan Bishop Crispell
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 9781728247150
Tif Marcelo

Tif Marcelo is a veteran US Army nurse and holds a BS in Nursing and a Master’s in public administration. She believes and writes about the strength of families, the endurance of friendship, heartfelt romances, and is inspired daily by her own military hero husband and four children. She hosts the Stories to Love podcast, and is the USA Today bestselling author of In a Book Club Far Away, Once Upon a Sunset, The Key to Happily Ever After, which was a Target Diverse Book Club pick, The Holiday Switch, and the Heart Resort and Journey to the Heart series. She and her books have been featured in The Today Show, Shondaland, Real Simple Magazine, The Asian Journal and more! Her website, which includes a link to her newsletter, is www.TifMarcelo.com.

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