The intriguing paranormal twist keeps pages turning.
A girl lives two lives—literally—in this paranormal romance with a psychological twist.
Sabine is 18 in both of her lives. She lives with her financially struggling family in the Roxbury district of Boston half the time. At midnight every night she Shifts into her other life to live the same day over again with her wealthy family in upscale Wellesley. Sabine wants to live only one life, preferably in Wellesley with her friends and longtime perfect boyfriend, Dex, even though she realizes she isn’t in love with him. Suddenly, physical changes in one life no longer carry over into the other, and she decides to explore killing herself in her Roxbury life so she can live only her Wellesley life. Events go awry, however, and her parents, believing her to be mentally ill when she tells them the truth about her two lives, have her committed to a hospital. There, she meets Ethan, a medical student, to whom she begins to grow close. Shirvington keeps her interesting paranormal concept slightly vague: Does Sabine simply cross into a parallel universe, or does some other supernatural force cause her shifts? Could she simply be mentally ill? Sabine’s Roxbury life seems more interesting than the Wellesley one; it provides suspense, whereas the Wellesley story is more chick-lit friendly.
The intriguing paranormal twist keeps pages turning. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)Pub Date: July 22, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8027-3702-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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 lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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