Cultural pressures, man.Ĭan you tell I’m happy when books for kids present boys of color as romantic leads without exoticizing them? BECAUSE I AM.

His dad puts a lot of pressure on him not to pursue the arts despite Rejeev’s love of drawing, so his attitude is understandable too.

Even when Rajeev is being a royal jerk as the editor in chief of the middle school newspaper, his sweet side shows through any time his macaron Juliet comes up in conversation. The book’s inciting incident is Elise meeting her Romeo at a sweets shop, so of course the book is going to be deliciously adorable and sweet enough to make your dentist advise against reading it. (I know, I’m a master at transitions and subtlety.) I almost wish I weren’t swamped in review books now so I just could review what I wanted when I wanted the way I did when I started six years ago. Very cute, a bit outlandish in parts, but worth reading if you’re in a bad mood and want something fluffy. This is one of those reviews I’ve been putting off for months because Macarons at Midnight is pretty easily summarized. *the love interest Rajeev is Indian, the principal’s wife is Thai, and Elise’s dad is Brazilian See more of my reviews on The YA Kitten! My copy was an ARC that came from YA Books Central for review. She now lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut with her family. She was born in New Jersey, grew up in Southern California, attended college in Texas, and spent eight years as a children’s book editor in New York City. She is a shameless fan of “The Sound of Music,” Hershey’s kisses, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen, and can often be caught daydreaming of romping about gothic castles in lovely Victorian gowns.

Her first published novel was The Sound of Munich, followed by Heart and Salsa, The Ghoul Next Door, Cake Pop Crush, and Dead in the Water. When she was seventeen, she filled four journals with her handwritten first novel, titled “The Dream Keeper.” To escape her chores, she often lied to her parents about what time her shift started at the local fast food joint so that she could spend an extra hour writing in the parking lot in her mom’s faded Buick. When she was in kindergarten, Suzanne Nelson jotted down in a school keepsake album that she wanted to be a “riter.” Though she clearly had issues with spelling, she persisted, composing cryptic poems about rainbows, fairies, mud, and even 'Star Wars' in spiral notebooks all through elementary school.

Macarons at midnight by suzanne nelson