Despite occasional predictable or contrived moments, Arden’s tale is insightful throughout.
"Recklessly loyal" Arden learns that there is such a thing as too much giving.
Some people, Arden's mom says, are gardeners, and some people are flowers. Hapless, impulsive Lindsey has been the flower to Arden's gardener since the two met as children. Left to her own devices, Lindsey gets into trouble by stashing drugs in Arden's locker or by provoking the ire of the popular crowd when she asks out a girl who turns out to be straight. (It’s too bad these two acts are so neatly equated.) Arden's mother, also a gardener, has left the family abruptly for New York, and Arden is left picking up her oblivious father's slack. Frustrated one night, Arden types a query into an Internet search box—"Why doesn't anybody love me as much as I love them?"—and finds herself captivated by a blog that pops up as a result. It's never fully clear what about Tonight the Streets Are Ours or its wealthy, NYC-dwelling, 17-year-old author, Peter, appeals so strongly to Arden, but the story of Peter's tumultuous romance with a girl named Bianca provides an escape from Arden's increasingly exhausting obligations. The prose is crisp and full of subtle, comic detail, and the girls' climactic trip to New York provides an epic resolution.
Despite occasional predictable or contrived moments, Arden’s tale is insightful throughout. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-37665-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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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