A powerful roller-coaster ride of emotions and self-awareness.
Intensely shy, 16-year-old Comet Caldwell hates her name: She is nothing like a comet.
The white Edinburgh, Scotland, teen hides in her room, writing poetry and reading. Her self-absorbed parents generally ignore her, and at school, she is either bullied or made to feel invisible. When not in school uniform, she expresses her creativity through an eclectic mix of vintage clothes. Comet attends poetry readings but never dares to read her own work. Her friends Vicki, who is of white and black Caribbean descent, and Steph, who is pale and blonde, are fully developed characters who are staunchly loyal and sympathetic. Comet narrates her story in the first person, riddled with self-doubt and fear of real or imagined pitfalls and dangers. Enter the new American boy, Tobias, and everything begins to change in tiny, tentative increments, as with many backward steps, she questions her worthiness of their growing love. Further complications ensue when Tobias’ cousin, Stevie, facing devastating problems of his own, becomes involved with a dangerous gang, leading to heartbreaking tragedy. Young (The Impossible Vastness of Us, 2017, etc.) understands the young lovers and describes their physical relationship gently and tenderly. Events twist and turn, revealing much about the multilayered realities of modern teens. Readers will sometimes be frustrated with Comet, but they will also laugh and cry with her and cheer her on.
A powerful roller-coaster ride of emotions and self-awareness. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-335-01674-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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 lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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