Deeply human.
At Henry Cooke Academy in Belfast, Northern Ireland, classmates Andrew and Charlotte are under enormous pressure.
The first from his council estate to attend the prestigious school, Drew is sure his way to success is to join the Stewards, the exclusive boys’ society that serves as Cooke’s most powerful clique. Their leader is perfect-on-the-surface Adam, Charlotte’s ex-boyfriend, who blackmails her with revenge porn after she initiates their breakup. Throughout the year, Drew and Charlotte grow closer. She finds self-confidence by performing at poetry slams, while he finally feels welcome at Cooke’s through becoming part of her friend group. When a terrible decision threatens to blow up Drew’s life, and the weight of Charlotte’s secrets becomes unbearable for her, they must each risk letting go of the old selves they’ve been holding fast to. Both teens reckon with forces beyond their control, and McMillan depicts with clarity the aggressions, small and large, of the classism and patriarchy that wear down their spirits. The cruelties Drew and Charlotte face from classmates and the lives in which they feel stuck are all the more compelling for how recognizably drawn they are. Even the kinder students can be clueless in their privilege. Drew, Charlotte, and their friends are realistically flawed—joking, stumbling, and trying again, even as they fail. There’s an admirable frankness to their points of view, an honesty that rarely veers into sentimentality and renders the characters believable. Main characters are cued white.
Deeply human. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781915071422
Page Count: 284
Publisher: Little Island
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
