For readers who are drawn to the unconventional, this will be a satisfying read.
A high school senior discovers common ground with a new friend and develops a deep connection that changes her life.
Ryann Bird is the primary support for herself, her brother, and her nephew following her parents’ accidental deaths. They live in a trailer park, but she attends school in an affluent neighborhood where she maintains a tough exterior. A teacher asks her to befriend new girl Alexandria Macallough, whose mother volunteered for a controversial one-way trip into space sponsored by a private company, SCOUT. The girls’ relationship has a rocky beginning, including an incident in which Alexandria is seriously injured. Seeking to make amends, Ryann involves her friends in a scheme to break into SCOUT to retrieve the messages Alexandria’s mother has sent through the years. As the plan proceeds, Ryann faces her attraction to Alexandria as well as the sacrifices she has made since her parents died. This is an unusual story—both in plot and how the narrative is tracked—that touches on sexual identity, friendship, nontraditional families, and the price of human space exploration. The characters’ resilience and vulnerability are deftly handled. Ryann and her family are white, while Alexandria is biracial (half black/half white). An observant Sikh secondary character with a Muslim given name and polyamorous parents is presented without sufficient backstory.
For readers who are drawn to the unconventional, this will be a satisfying read. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-10163-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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