A charming friends-to-lovers romance.
Caleb Covic has almost kissed Evie Beckham 14 times.
Caleb and Evie have been best friends since kindergarten. From offering comfort during her panic attacks to understanding her difficulty with interpreting feelings, no one can reach Evie the way Caleb can. As unquestionably passionate as Evie is about mathematics, Caleb is certain that when she is ready for romance, she will return his love and choose him. But Caleb doubts himself when Leo McGill, their charming fellow classmate at Newton Academy, a prestigious STEM boarding school, shows interest in Evie and she reciprocates. For her part, Evie cannot imagine her life without Caleb and fears losing their friendship if they were to become romantically involved—and besides, sparks fly between her and Leo, so going out with him makes sense. But after she grows attached to an anonymous boy she meets in an online forum, she begins to wonder if it’s possible to have feelings for more than one person. Parks shows the benefits of therapy through Evie’s growth in overcoming her anxiety and standing up to her overly protective psychologist mother; the mother-daughter relationship is movingly portrayed. She also touches on the lack of diversity in math and sciences and the pressure Evie and her best friend feel as girls in a male-dominated field. Alternating points of view allow readers to truly understand the depth of Caleb and Evie’s relationship from both sides. Most characters are White.
A charming friends-to-lovers romance. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3972-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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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