Exposes important issues with straightforward clarity.
Every year teens enter prestigious Chandler Academy, a Connecticut boarding school known for setting young people up to do great things.
Among the greatest honors is selection into the Circle, a cloistered creative writing workshop run by the mysterious professor Douglas. Students from all walks of life are hungry for a spot. Those chosen in the fall of 1999 couldn’t be more varied: biracial Spence, a White and Indian American queen bee struggling with impossibly high standards; Cuban and Brazilian American Freddy, thoughtful and longing to be more than a jock; Ramin, a sensitive gay Iranian immigrant; Brunson, a White closeted lesbian and overachiever; and Beth, a White girl who is an outcast both for her anxiety and townie status. As the members of the Circle bond, becoming like family, they share their own secrets and discover much larger and more harmful ones having to do with student well-being that Chandler has kept for years. While doing vital work in discussing issues of sexual assault, hazing, and rampant homophobia, the story struggles in other ways. Characters often feel interchangeable due to the third-person–present point of view that renders them more a collection of explained thoughts and traits than organic people (the novel is bookended by a first-person prologue and epilogue set in 2008). Characters’ backgrounds are in some cases touched upon too briefly, but the sweet friendships and romances formed by the group are touching.
Exposes important issues with straightforward clarity. (content warning, resources) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-303932-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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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