A charming escapist romance.
After missing her flight home from London, an American teen faces further travel interruptions when she hears an announcement that the world is ending in eight days.
Nothing has gone to plan during 18-year-old Wren Wheeler’s summer study abroad trip to London with her BFF. After years of anticipation, planning, and creating itineraries, she spent most of the time sick in her hotel room, and now she’s missed her flight home just as the news breaks that a comet is due to hit Earth, putting an end to life as we know it. Wren was running late in the first place because earlier, in a meet-cute at Camden Market, she helped 19-year-old crown prince Theo evade paparazzi after he ditched his security detail in hopes of enjoying some freedom before it was too late. Calling in a favor, she asks Theo for help getting home to Chicago. He agrees but in exchange wants Wren to help him get to Santorini, where he was happiest and would like to die. He’ll send her on to Chicago in the private jet that’s waiting there. The two embark on a trip across Europe involving trains, a ferry, and a stolen car, not to mention a blossoming romance. Quirky Wren is full of personality, and her lively first-person narration is engaging and sympathetic. The witty banter and romantic tension between the leads, combined with a fast-paced plot, help readers suspend their disbelief. Main characters are white.
A charming escapist romance. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781250873040
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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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