Fresh and charming.
A San Diego soccer player struggles with life’s uncertainties.
Quinn knew exactly what she wanted: to be recruited by the University of North Carolina and to have a happy future with her girlfriend, Jamie. But everything falls apart when Jamie breaks up with her right before senior year. The two are close with Alexis (who’s never met a piece of news she didn’t want to share) and Ronni (Quinn’s fellow soccer star), and the four still eat lunch together daily. Quinn and Jamie, awkwardly trying to make their friendship work, have role models in older lesbian exes who amicably run their favorite queer cafe, Triple Moon. A complication arises in the form of a new possible love interest for Quinn: Ruby, classmate and gorgeous lead singer of a local band, newly separated from her boyfriend—and first on the list Quinn and Jamie once made of “Straight Girls We Wish Weren’t.” Adding to Quinn’s stress, her unreliable father pops up, she hasn’t heard from college recruiters, Jamie is cozying up to another girl, and Triple Moon is having financial difficulties. The pacing is spot-on, and the exploration of lesbian relationships—particularly post-breakup—is handled deftly. Quinn is a sympathetic character, and her interactions with Jamie feel true to life. Unfortunately, Ronni is a little too perfect and two-dimensional in the role of Black Best Friend. Ruby’s surname cues her as Latinx; all other main characters are white.
Fresh and charming. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9734-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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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