Little enjoyment stems from witnessing the manipulation and bad decisions of these wishy-washy characters.
Lorna led her friendship quartet, so her death leaves her friends both grief-stricken and lacking independent identities.
Lorna’s bossy personality united mousy Jackie, rich-boy Finn, and utterly forgettable Lucas in elementary school. Adolescent sexual tension changed the group dynamics as Lorna and Finn fell in love, and predictably Jackie yearned for Finn while Lucas was besotted with Lorna. These existing fault lines grow after typically sure-footed Lorna tumbles into rough seas and presumably drowns. Then Lucas mysteriously leaves town, and Jackie and Finn find themselves growing closer—though he rejects her awkward romantic advances. Embarrassed, Jackie finds solace in the inappropriate attentions of a 30-year-old visiting artist, Cooper, whom readers will instantly identify as a sexual predator. Meanwhile, Jackie makes a disturbing discovery, and Lucas returns to share a dark secret, helping readers realize much more quickly than the dense trio that all may not be as it seems. What should be an unexpected twist is neither stunning nor believable, though the depth of the emotional manipulation behind it is surprising. Adding to the novel’s overall unpleasantness is the sexual-predator storyline, which resolves with a whimper rather than the bang it deserves.
Little enjoyment stems from witnessing the manipulation and bad decisions of these wishy-washy characters. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4405-8900-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Merit Press
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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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