An earnest though predicable novel that involves a hot car and a hot mess.
A Southern-accented novel about a youthful love triangle and its lasting consequences.
After a near-fatal car crash in its first chapter, Madding’s novel flashes back to the week leading up to a high school graduation in the small town of Haggard, Georgia. Seniors Ricky Mann, Jimmy Lowe, and Buck Blue have been friends since grade school. Their lives are a small-town idyll with something of the flavor of American Graffiti, involving hanging out every night, drinking beer, talking girls and cars—Buck is joined at the hip to his 1970 Chevelle, the hottest car around—and imagining their futures. The high point after the graduation ceremony includes extended drunken revelry in Panama City Beach on the Gulf Coast. But there is a fly in the ointment: Both Buck and Jimmy are sweet on their classmate Jenny Smith, who eventually chooses Jimmy as her steady boyfriend. The combination of a broken heart, booze, and a hot car pushes Buck over the edge, and, unfortunately, he takes Jimmy with him. Madding tells this story from the point of view of Ricky, the solid and thoughtful member of the group, who’s concerned about the love triangle from the start. Even so, some of the author’s Southern tropes, such as putting peanuts in Coca-Cola, are facile or overfamiliar, and his wording can be stilted. It’s hard to envision a farm boy like Ricky saying “It’s readily obvious…” or any teenager of the day observing that another is stuffing chaw in “the cheek of his mouth.” And the ending is unsurprising—everything points from the start to a climax involving immaturity, booze, and a powerful car. But the boys are engaging, especially Ricky and Jimmy, and Madding evokes real sympathy for Jimmy when he has to suffer for Buck’s hormonal craziness. The novel also has a clear theme, foreshadowed in the opening pages: Every action has consequences that may not surface for a long time. As they move through life, Ricky and Jimmy and Buck all learn that important lesson.
An earnest though predicable novel that involves a hot car and a hot mess.Pub Date: April 11, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Charm House Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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