Forever Hot/Truly Fine

Like Moore and her husband’s Lockwood Lions series, this flipbook-style first title in the Grovehill Giants series presents romance-fueled teen drama from two points of view; the action centers on the cheer squad and football team of the Lions’ cross-town rival high school. In Forever Hot, new student and cheerleader Skylar deals with mean girls at school and accepting a stepfamily after her mother’s death from cancer. Truly Fine finds running back Ford Frost battling a roster of woes while trying to woo Skylar. Sports action gets short shrift, and the dialogue and narration sound stilted and unrealistic, despite a reliance on slang. A barrage of problems, from child abduction to steroid use, receives quick and trite resolutions. Ages 15–up. (Aug.)