Never Thought I'd End Up Here and Candle Island

Liang, Ann. Never Thought I'd End Up Here
June 3, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Leah, who is in high school, has been modeling, but after her recent disenchantment with the profession, has given it up. After a disastrous remark at her cousin's wedding, where her translation of well wishes was inaccurate, her mother decides to send her on a Journey to the East program organized by her aunt. Leah has never really embraced the language of her family, and her parents hope that three weeks in Shanghai, with other teens with Chinese family backgrounds, will help her improve, as well as give her something to do now that she's not modeling. Unfortunately, her arch nemesis Cyrus is on the trip, hoping to get the attention of Leah's aunt and get a recommendation to study in the Chinese literature program at Stanford. The two had been friends for a long time, but after the two were involved in a misunderstanding that got Leah kicked out of her school, they have avoided each other. Leah's roommate is Daisy, who is quiet and doesn't care as much about her appearance as Leah, who has brought a lot of clothes and spends much time on her makeup. Another program attendee is Oliver, who is rather attractive, and ends up rooming with Cyrus. The tip has a lot of fun activities, from an escape room and bargaining for groceries in the local market to mountain climbing in the rain. There's a photo contest, and when Leah and Cyrus are trying to decide which pictures to enter, Leah falls asleep in his hotel room. Nothing happens, but if younger readers pick this up, there is a mention of a condom lying about. Oliver is disappointed, since he was interested in Leah, and this makes Leah reexamine her relationship with her long time friend. After a photographer takes pictures of Leah for promotional materials for Journey to the East, the other attendees find out she was a model, a fact she was trying to hide. She blames Cyrus for telling everyone, and the two have a bit of a tiff. Three weeks isn't a very long time, but will it be enough for Leah to learn more Chinese, decide what to do with her life, and make some kind of peace with Cyrus?
Strengths: I'm a huge fan of young adult travel novels like Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and the Journey to the East program had a lot of interesting facets, and we get a fun vicarious trip to Shanghai. Fans of the enemies to lovers trope will root for Leah and Cyrus to overcome their past problems. Oliver is an interesting character, and gives Cyrus some competition. I'm sure there are many high school students whose parents speak other languages who don't speak anything but English themselves, and this is an interesting dynamic. My favorite part of this was when Leah started to realize that she was speaking and understanding without really thinking about it. 

Weaknesses: I was secretly hoping that Leah would come to the understanding that Daisy, with her low key skin care routine, was embracing a better path than Leah's, which included spending an HOUR on hair and makeup and wearing high heels to sight see even though they hurt her feet. Instead, Leah gives Daisy a makeover. Young people might enjoy Leah's "don't hate me because I'm beautiful" attitude more than I did.
What I really think: While I am not the demographic for this, I do enjoy a good young adult romance. This author seems to have an avid following, but I would have appreciated a little more character development. I might buy this for a high school library, but will pass for middle school because of the length.

Wolk, Lauren. Candle Island
April 22, 2025 by Dutton Books for Young Readers English
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus 

Lucretia Sanderson and her mother Eliza move from their home in Vermont to the remote Candle Island in Maine to escape media attention from the mother's artwork, which has recently become very popular. They also are reeling from the car accident death of their father and husband, and need a location without as many memories. They have bought a large, old house that still has many of the previous owners' possessions in it, as well as a barn for Lucretia's horse and a skiff. Lucretia, who is sometimes called Lucy, finds that the local kids consider her a summer person, and the rich, entitled summer kids think she is a local. It doesn't help that Murdock, whose grandfather Big Seb Lucretia meets upon landing on the island, used to live in the house, and had to move because both of her parents died. Lucretia does befriend Bastian, Murdock's cousin, and the two sail and have some adventures with the baby osprey that Lucretia has rescued. Everyone on the island seems to have secrets, and some of these cause big problems. Lucretia would like to befriend Murdock, but when she shares one of her family's secrets, Murdock alerts a reporter visiting the island. The Sandersons have their reasons for keeping these secrets, but maybe it's time to shed some light on them. 

Chris Baron described novels in verse as "lyrical explorations of the internal landscape", and that description fits this heart print, prose book very well. Lucretia seems much older than most middle grade characters, and is certain precocious in many ways. Will has written several middle grade novels, but this could easily be an adult novel with a younger character. Candle Island reminded me of the work of Nancy Thayer, and will be a big hit with fans of Mary Oliver's work.