A sweet romance with deep undercurrents.
As a fourth-generation beekeeper, high school senior Josie Hazeldine has honey-making in her past—but she’s very stressed about her future.
One major cause of anxiety is her mother’s insistence on her going to college. Although Josie applied and was accepted, she secretly turned down the offer, preferring to remain in her comfortable, ramshackle Northern California home and support her young single mother in the family beekeeping business which she hopes to inherit. When Mom goes to visit Gran, who relocated to Florida, in order to check on her health, Josie’s relationship with hunky 18-year-old Ezra blossoms. But things get complicated when Ezra turns out to be a member of the Blumstein clan, rival beekeepers with whom the Hazeldines have had a long-standing feud. The stress of keeping their relationship from her mother and hiding the fact that she turned down a college offer while also trying to earn respect for her beekeeping skills causes Josie’s anxieties to increase. Faced with complicated choices, Josie learns to acknowledge her true strengths and, ultimately, to follow her heart. The authentic descriptions of beekeeping, gleaned from the author’s personal experiences, and the sensitive depiction of teen anxiety elevate this story. Josie’s sympathetic personality and determination to overcome her challenges make for a satisfying read. Main characters present White.
A sweet romance with deep undercurrents. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5300-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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