The bildungsroman never goes out of style, and Nelson still executes it well, if predictably.
An affluent white teenage boy begins to question his place in his peer group after an odd new girl challenges his assumptions.
Sophomore Gavin Meeks is “one of the popular kids” at Evergreen High School in Portland, Oregon. His hobbies and dating choices are mostly based on his friends’ opinions and his family’s wealth. Everything changes when he meets Antoinette Renwick, a white girl who smokes, “dresses like a freak,” and had a brother who committed suicide. At first, Gavin can’t imagine being friends with her. But once he spends more time with Antoinette, he realizes that she “wasn’t just some pissed-off teenager. She had a plan…and the rest of it: high school, social life, teachers, parents…it was just noise to her.” Antoinette is the catalyst that initiates Gavin’s transformation from privileged tennis player to thoughtful photographer. Gavin knows he’s in love. But can Antoinette ever be in love with someone like him? Nelson returns to his now-familiar, linear plot of a clueless suburban teen awakening to the world’s complications under the influence of a quirky outsider. While references to Facebook may seem dated, Nelson gives a nod to the current cultural context when Gavin tries to photograph an angry protest that erupts as a result of a police shooting of an African-American teenager.
The bildungsroman never goes out of style, and Nelson still executes it well, if predictably. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8813-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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 treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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