An evocative, charming tale of two types of families, the one you are born into and the one you choose.
Arsalan Nizami is looking for love.
Seventeen-year-old Arsalan has a lot to consider: Apart from contemplating an arranged marriage, he’s integrating into a public high school after being home-schooled and is suddenly meeting peers who use 21st-century references in their conversations, a big change from his etymology-obsessed great-grandfather Nana’s passion for Old English. The Sacramento teen is also looking for a rishta aunty, hoping a matchmaker can secure his future before his 100-year-old Nana passes away. Having lost his mother in a car accident two years ago, and not being on good terms with his abusive, alcoholic, absentee father, Arsalan is alone with Nana as his only real family. Enter Beenish “Beans” Siraj, his free spirit of a classmate who is also Muslim and Pakistani American. Beans has a proposal for Arsalan. If he helps her out by being her dance partner, part of a special plan she has to disrupt her sister’s wedding, she will set him up with dates in exchange. Masood has crafted each of his characters with care, using them to explore topics such as grief, domestic violence, divorce, addiction, and religious differences. Despite the seriousness of these subjects, Arsalan’s hapless, earnest, and socially naïve narration adds humor and lightness to this story of finding your place in the world despite feeling like a misfit.
An evocative, charming tale of two types of families, the one you are born into and the one you choose. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-49241-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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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