Despite the book's flaws, teens will likely find enough to keep them turning the pages, particularly when it comes to...
Seventeen-year-old Ava Hanson awakens in a bed, in a room, in a home she can’t remember.
While she recognizes the names and faces of the people in her life, Ava can’t shake the feeling that everyone, including herself, isn’t who they seem. Despite being warned not to pursue them, flashes of another life in another world fuel Ava’s desperation to fill the gaps in her memory. The question is, what and who will it cost her? Her visions reveal a sinister dystopia, where Ava’s only hope to escape the chains of her orphaned past is to be a “listener” for a government that demands conformity and subordination at all costs. The stakes are raised considerably with the appearance of Morgan, a young man who doesn’t belong in Ava’s new world, though her heart recognizes him immediately. Scott (Between Here and Forever, 2011, etc.) lays the groundwork for an interesting twist on the “Who am I?” novel, but Ava’s first-person narration, littered with broken thoughts, is often problematic. Its staccato, stop-and-start rhythm is distracting, pulling readers out of the story. This is a shame, as the worlds the author describes—Ava’s new, normal one, much like ours, and the dystopic one of her memories—make for a fascinating set up.
Despite the book's flaws, teens will likely find enough to keep them turning the pages, particularly when it comes to Morgan’s desperation to convince Ava that love is the only thing one needs know for certain. (Thriller. 13 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-525-42209-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
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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