An entertaining, if lightweight exploration of high school social hierarchies.
The Art of War meets Mean Girls.
Olivia Chang knows how to navigate a new high school. Her mother is in the military, and they’re constantly moving, so she’s comfortable being known as The New Girl. Olivia knows exactly how to be invisible and avoid attention from the popular crowd. But in her junior year in Plainstown, Ohio, in what she hopes will be her last new school, she finds herself violating her own rules and bantering with a guy from French class—and landing right in the crosshairs of No. 1 popular girl Mitzi Clarke. Events take a turn for the unexpected as Olivia learns of (and eventually helps lead) a movement to topple the school’s social power structure. The story’s blend of romance, action, humor, and social issues comes together with mixed success. Olivia’s invocation of her Taiwanese immigrant grandfather’s experiences as she faces anti-Asian racism is heartfelt and effective (the school seems to be predominantly White). The neat pairing off of central characters feels convenient to the plot, but the romances are endearing. While there are allusions to more serious incidents, the novel largely avoids showing the deeper impacts of bullying, making its tackling of tough topics feel inconsistent in tone. Still, the narrative’s quick pace and creative turns should keep readers’ interest all the way to the thoughtful ending.
An entertaining, if lightweight exploration of high school social hierarchies. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780063237834
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
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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