A book of subtlety that won’t necessarily change the world but could make a world of difference to LGBTQ teens grappling...
Guilt can prove more potent than adolescent hormones when, during your first kiss, the little brother you’re supposed to be watching drowns.
Fourteen-year-old Asher Price lives in small-town Florida with all the average American trimmings: divorced parents, one brother and a broken screen door. Asher’s father left the family and is absent save for his mother’s frequently voiced disdain. A reserved young man, Asher finds escape from his fractured family with a vintage Minolta. Then comes handsome, charismatic Garrett, who triggers stirrings Asher wants to explore. When Garrett and Asher sneak off to share a kiss at the public pool, Asher’s brother drowns. A consequent combination of guilt and religious reflex suppresses any urges Asher has to pursue his attraction to Garrett—or any guy—ever again. Neither as optimistic as David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy (2003) nor as revelatory as emily m. danforth’s The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2012), this novel finds itself in a realistically awkward place between. It’s a study of how sad and treacherous it can be for an LGBTQ teen—or any teen—to achieve self-acceptance. The rhythm of the text often falls into short phrasing, making it read the way photographers might digest their surroundings: in rapid-fire observations of the tiniest details.
A book of subtlety that won’t necessarily change the world but could make a world of difference to LGBTQ teens grappling with identity. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-60282-982-4
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
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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