Those who stick around for this slow ride will be left eager to know how events play out.
Fantasy without magic, historical fiction without facts: Hathaway’s debut defies classification.
In a fantasy world featuring early-20th century technology, royals descended from one common ancestor rule the North—except for a new nation under the dictatorship of Gen. Dakar—while the South descends into chaos. This world includes military women and brown-skinned royals, although both remain exceptions. White Athan, the general’s youngest son, is a reluctant military pilot; he just wants to run away and fly his beloved planes in peace. Biracial, brown-skinned Aurelia is a Northern princess with a Southern mother who loves horses, dreams of a university education, and believes she is superior for being royal. When the two finally meet as part of a fact-finding mission, sparks fly, although the prologue warns that their Romeo and Juliet–style romance is probably doomed. The politics are subtle and complex, even if the characters sometimes are not, and everyone lies, leaving readers confused. This is a novel about ambition and war, occasionally drowning in details, and much of this series opener sets up the world, with the bulk of the action crammed into the final chapters. Grief and the horrors of war loom larger than the romance, although the love letters are swoon-y.
Those who stick around for this slow ride will be left eager to know how events play out. (map) (Fantasy. 13-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7653-9641-9
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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