This lightweight, romantic teen novel floats atop a tour of New York City. Like oil and water, the two don't mix well. Westsider Kendra Kaye (14) and her cheeky little brother Oscar ("So what does S.W.A.K. mean? She Was A Kangaroo?") are saddled for part of the summer with Frank (15), a Wisconsin farm boy from a troubled family. Rather than have the young folk sit around, their parents present them with a sort of scavenger hunt, a list of things to do, places to visit, cuisines to sample and questions about NYC to answer; they'll have to scramble, but if they get through the list their reward is a trip to England. Despite some obstacles, Frank and Kendra hit it off, and by the end of the summer their friendship has become something more intense. This much Danziger handles in her usual cheery, sympathetic way, with plenty of rapid-fire puns delivered by a cast of sane characters willing to recognize problems and talk things out. The travelog doesn't come off so well. The list is confined to Manhattan places below about 125th Street (they go to a Mets game, but that's an afterthought), so readers get only a tourist's-eye view of the city, and except for an excited visit to the set of All My Children and a sobering one to the Jewish Museum, the characters', reactions range from "Awesome!" to "It is so sad." Most of the meals, performances, museums, and sights are hardly noticed, much less described. The author does communicate an upbeat, positive impression of life in the Big Apple, but it's a vague impression, from a single angle.
Pub Date: Sept. 4, 1987
ISBN: 0698116941
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
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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