Writing from personal experience, Hunter delivers a read that’s both absorbing and honest.
Leah McKenzie is a white high school senior who is waiting for her third heart. She’s on the transplant list, but due to a rare blood type she’s decided to accept her death.
One afternoon Leah receives a call that they have a heart for her, one that will replace the external, mechanical heart that’s been keeping her alive since her own stopped working. That same day, classmate and longtime crush Matt Kenner, who’s also white, has lost his twin brother to a fatal gunshot wound to the head—his is Leah’s new heart. Eric Kenner’s death is being ruled as a suicide, but Matt doesn’t think that makes sense. Things get weird when both Matt and Leah learn they’ve been having the same recurring dream, reliving Eric’s last moments. Leah and Matt work together to find out what actually happened that night, pursuing justice for Eric. They also grow closer, each helping the other heal from the painful event in their lives. Hunter’s portrayals of the characters and their emotions, and of Leah’s life that walks so close to death, are genuine and full of the hard truths of living with chronic illness. Leah’s first-person narration alternates with Matt’s third person, occasionally changing mode to emulate the styles of the books Leah loves. The vast majority of the characters are white.
Writing from personal experience, Hunter delivers a read that’s both absorbing and honest. (author’s note) (Paranormal romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-13165-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
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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