A skillfully executed thriller with a decadent setting that fans of the genre will adore.
A group of seniors from elite New York City prep schools find themselves embroiled in murder.
Each year, members of the Legacy Club nominate 36 seniors from the Intercollegiate League to become part of their exclusive society. The Legacy Ball is the culmination of a week of activities, and one winner, chosen based on a presentation competition, will receive a check and a seat on the club’s board. The story opens dramatically after the ball, as a body is whisked away in an ambulance, before backtracking to four days before the party. Excelsior Prep’s club nominees include Bernie Kaplan, a White girl with famous socialite parents; her best friend, artistic Isobel Rothcroft, whose Mexican American mother is a well-known magazine editor; and queer Greek American scholarship student Tori Tasso, whose widowed dad owns a neighborhood diner. Tori feels out of place in this group, but she knows better than anyone the impact access to the club’s social connections could have on her life. The book counts down the days leading up to the ball that leaves someone dead, interspersing chapters from different characters’ points of view with scenes from the ball’s aftermath as secrets are revealed and the drama and intrigue ramp up. As well as being a fast-paced, page-turning thriller, the book explores issues such as social class divisions, grief, and drug and alcohol use.
A skillfully executed thriller with a decadent setting that fans of the genre will adore. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593619506
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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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