A moving portrayal of grief, family, and the complexity of different perspectives.
A 17-year-old girl is devastated by her father’s death and the secrets she learns after his passing.
Evie Parker returns home from the hospital following her father’s sudden death from a heart attack to find his belongings packed up. Realizing he had been about to move out and heartbroken, angry, and worried for her mom’s well-being, Evie unpacks everything and keeps her discovery secret. This snap decision marks the start of a difficult journey, one that involves struggling with her already fraught relationship with her mother while they both grieve—and discovering that her father had a much younger lover named Bree. Despite the support of her best friend, Juana, and the new friends she makes in the summer photography course she joins (including the incredibly cute Declan), Evie starts to spiral when she finds out that Bree is pregnant. From Evie’s growing passion for photography, her strained relationship with her mom, her loving friendship with Juana, and her charming romance with Declan to some incredibly difficult, harrowing encounters with Bree, the author crafts a beautiful exploration of a family torn apart by secrets and grief. Written through the lens of a messy, complex teen girl, this is a story infused with humor, hope, and a lot of heart. Evie and Bree are presumed White; Declan is Japanese and Irish American; and lesbian Juana is coded as Latinx.
A moving portrayal of grief, family, and the complexity of different perspectives. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: July 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0364-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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
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
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