Hits all the right notes.
When Jai Patel’s band, Infinite Sorrow, loses its lead singer mere weeks before a major indie band competition in Los Angeles, Nate Hargreaves volunteers to take his place.
Seventeen-year-old Nate, who is gay, hasn’t performed onstage since he froze during an audition 5 years ago, but he’s determined to see this through. It helps that band practice means Nate gets to spend more time with best friend Jai, who is bi and on whom Nate has developed a huge crush. He’s not rushing to confess, though: Nate’s first relationship ended with heartbreak and unanswered questions, and he doesn’t want to ruin this friendship. With summer coming up, Nate is also looking forward to traveling with his mother to Johannesburg for his cousin’s wedding and learning more about his deceased father. When a scheduling conflict prevents his mother from taking time off work, Jai volunteers to accompany Nate. Jai’s interest in Nate—apparent from the start to everyone but him—makes the romance storyline a reassuring matter of when rather than if that naturally builds anticipation. The atmosphere is comfortably positive throughout thanks to Nate’s good-natured and snarky narration as well as the unwavering support he receives from friends and family during moments of emotional turmoil and vulnerability. Nate’s American mother is described as mixed race; his South African family members are Black and White, and Nate learns about the history of race relations in the country.
Hits all the right notes. (song lyrics) (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37642-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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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