Charlotte’s bleak tale provides an imaginative twist on the timeless battle between dark and light and, of course, sets up a...
Yet another angel in human form reluctantly faces her uncertain destiny in a gripping supernatural romance.
High schooler Charlotte’s life has been controlled by the Need: Periodically she experiences an irresistible compulsion to locate a particular person and provide some kind of emotional assistance, never understanding why. But now the episodes are happening every day, dominating her and impossible to explain away to her best friend, rich girl Sarah, and rock-steady boyfriend, Harlin. Onika, a sexy young woman who haunts her nightmares, may hold the key to what’s happening to Charlotte. What she discovers about her future is painful and disturbing. She’s a supernatural being, and when, way too soon, she’s forced back to the light—akin to dying—no one will remember her. Her first-person narration captures the terror of dying young, which is here intensified by the prospect of the erasure of her existence once she’s gone. Realistic dialogue and believable teen situations—opportunities to sneak out for sexual encounters, the ready availability of alcohol, the ugly outcome of Sarah’s rejection of a predatory classmate—all serve to make the fantasy elements more believable. While characters are predictable and superficial, the inventive plot-driven narrative fully conveys Charlotte’s desolation.
Charlotte’s bleak tale provides an imaginative twist on the timeless battle between dark and light and, of course, sets up a potential sequel. (Supernatural romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 21, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-200824-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2011
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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