Acts of Lovingkindness

by Nina Kentsis

Francie Baum was hoping that turning seventeen would bring some changes, but maybe not so many all at once: a cute new boyfriend from the neighboring school, a shaking up of her once-solid friend group, extra homework from her Hebrew teacher, and, more worrisome, her older brother’s ongoing refusal to return to rehab. She didn’t realize senior year of high school would be this complicated.

As she edges closer to college and the uncertainty of the future, Francie must figure out how to navigate all this and more, demonstrating how acts of lovingkindness have the power to mend even the deepest fractures.

Genres: Jewish, Young Adult

260 pages, Paperback

Published February 22, 2025

About the author

Nina Kentsis grew up on the south shore of Long Island. Her stories explore young adult themes through the eyes of smart teenaged girls plunged into new worlds. ACTS OF LOVINGKINDNESS is her first novel. Nina holds a BA from Duke University and an MBA from Columbia University. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

Subscribe to her Substack! https://neenotchka.substack.com/

Reviews

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A saccharine YA coming of age novel loosely based on the author's own experiences set in the 1990s. The book chronicles Francie's senior year of high school and her first love and sexual experiences (sex scenes are PG and not too explicit). I picked this one up because I liked the cover illustration of a cassette tape. Throughout the book Francie lists the song tracks for the various mix-tapes she makes for others. Good for those who enjoy first love stories or are nostalgic for the 1990's.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Acts of Lovingkindness is a touching coming of age story that relates a teenagers experiences during her senior year in high school. It covers everything from first love, awakening sexuality, and the problems with the possibility of a long distance relationship once she goes to college. Although the character becomes involved in an adult relationship, the scenes are not explicit. The book would be appropriate for younger teens as well. But this is not really a love story, it also explores outgrowing friendships as people change, relatives with addiction, and broken trust. Nina Kentsis captures teenage angst and issues and the characters ring true.

Francie is Jewish, but has rarely attended services since her Bat Mitzvah. However, she needs community service hours for a high school credit and her mother has arranged for her to volunteer at the synagogue. She works with other volunteers at a nearby soup kitchen. Her advisor suggests she read the Book of Ruth. By examining this bible story, Francie learns about acts of lovingkindness. She realizes that we can all choose to be kind. And in making that choice she eventually resolves some of her problems. Although Francie is Jewish, her teenage experiences are universal and any adolescent can relate to the character. Choosing lovingkindness is a choice that anyone can make.

This is the author's first novel and I look forward to reading more.

Look for the upcoming author interview in early 2026 on storybooklady.net

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be a classic among the YA coming of age stories - first loves and heartbreaks, leaving for school, tensions in childhood friendships as we grow up and mature, family heartbreak, and trying to figure out who we are and who we want to be through it all. Francie is such an enjoyable narrator to follow along with through her senior year of unexpected changes. Nina Kentsis writes Francie and all the characters with such an authentic voice - it’s a perfect YA ride. It brought me back to my own senior year. One of the things I loved most was watching this character navigate through challenges, both expected like outgrowing friendships and first love and not so typical like her brother’s struggles and how her family dealt with them. I highly recommend!.

[Micheal D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Acts of Lovingkindness is a heartfelt, coming-of-age story that captures the emotional complexity of adolescence with authenticity and warmth. Nina Kentsis masterfully weaves Francie’s struggles family challenges, friendship shifts, and the anxieties of impending adulthood into a narrative that’s both relatable and inspiring. Each moment of compassion and self-discovery reminds readers of the profound impact of kindness in healing relationships and fostering personal growth. A truly moving read that resonates long after the last page.

[Melissa Spiers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read YA books before - this was a new experience! A thoroughly engaging read, something I wish I could have devoured in MY youth.

[Alexandra Hidalgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this moving and delightful YA debut, we follow high school senior Francie Baum as she juggles her first love, grief over her brother's estrangement from their family, and the ups and downs of female friendship. Kentsis takes us and Francie on a loving and empathetic journey. She vibrantly conveys Francie's uncertainty and excitement over being on the cusp of leaving home for college and the tumultuous thrill of experimenting with romance and what it's like to share our hearts and bodies with someone else for the first time, which will have readers swooning.

Having been a teenager in the nineties, I really appreciated the mixed tapes Francie makes throughout the book and the story's many fun references to that time, and as someone who is currently raising teenagers, I can say that they too would appreciate that aspect of the writing. My son got a cassette tape for Christmas, and he thought it was the coolest thing ever. In other words, the book's nostalgic setting will appeal to those who lived through that period and those who are curious about it precisely because they didn't live through it.

I look forward to following Kentsis's career as it evolves, and I think readers of this debut will too!

[J. Andrew Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy coming of age stories, you should read Acts of Lovingkindness. If you grew up in the eighties and nineties, it will call you back to those years. A friend of my wife's mentioned the book, and I thought I'd give it a spin. The few hours were well worth it.

Francie Baum is doing what a lot of us were fortunate and unfortunate enough to do. Loving a sister while losing a brother. Enjoying new friends while losing old friends. Finding a boyfriend or girlfriend and then losing them. Preparing to leave high school and finding her way to college. All while understanding the good and bad of the people supposed to care for us the most: our parents.

It's a near universal story told in a deeply personal and honest fashion. I enjoyed the opportunity to live those years again through the eyes of Francie.

Nina Kentsis is clearly a new writer. There's a bump here and there in the story production, but the imperfections make it all feel more real.