Charmingly eclectic; becomes cohesive through its emotional resonance.
In a desperate gambit to save her terminally ill father, a girl goes looking for a vampire.
Victoria’s parents, believing she needs a break from the strain of coping with her father’s imminent death, send her on a graduation trip to New Orleans. She’d always planned on going with her father, as they share a vampire obsession, both believing that a man who briefly publicly claimed this identity a decade prior was the real deal. Rather than a vacation, though, Victoria treats the trip as a quest for vampiric immortality to save her father. Accompanying Victoria is Henry, her childhood best friend–turned–subject of a messy love triangle that left them estranged for some time. He doesn’t believe in vampires but believes emotion-suppressing Victoria will need him. Following the few clues she has, Victoria’s led to charming, enigmatic Nicholas, who promises her what she wants if she can keep up with his challenges and prove that she really desires eternal life. The game takes them to many tourist hot spots, though Victoria’s moments of fun are complicated by grief spirals. Her emotional arc is all the more powerful for how much she fights against her feelings. Her other emotional complications come from her long history with Henry and an exciting love triangle with Nicholas. In the end, though, she must tackle hard truths head-on. Victoria’s White; Henry’s biracial (Japanese/White) and brown-skinned Nicholas has curly black hair.
Charmingly eclectic; becomes cohesive through its emotional resonance. (Fabulism. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7457-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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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