Buried Feelings by Kit Rosewater
Published by Delacorte Romance on July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798217033027
Pages: 342
Genres: LGBTQ+, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: Young Adult
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Kit Rosewater’s Buried Feelings follows high school junior and self-identified lesbian Ivy as she wields development of the school yearbook for her own personal portfolio and ropes her yearbook crew into completing a childhood treasure hunt sooner than her former best friend/rival/fellow “queer royalty” and maybe crush Cam, all while ignoring her romantic feelings for Cam, who is a trans boy. 

The most entertaining part is easily the treasure hunt, which takes Ivy and co. all over San Francisco as they discover hidden landmarks and lesser-known LGBTQ+ history, yet the hunt itself sometimes feels like a complicated pretext for the history lessons. The writing is often clumsy and peppered with overly didactic lectures on privilege or nuggets of pop culture that surely will not date well, while its reliance on millennial nostalgia for the film National Treasure stretches plausibility. As to the romance, Cam spends most of the first two-thirds of the story off-screen (or as an annoyance in Ivy’s mind), despite their supposedly sharing leadership of the school’s GSA, and when he finally does turn up for the treasure hunt, the romance feels forced and, frankly, a bit toxic. Ivy lacks character development, her “redemption” at the end feels rushed, and her happy ending undeserved. Its heart in the right place, this book tries to dig deep but never hits pay dirt.

Reviewed by Emily Ender, Oxford Hills Middle School Library, South Paris