The thin plot spreads itself across nearly 400 pages, and characters spend more time discussing what to do than actually...
Like its heroine, this series conclusion never quite comes to life.
Back in Oklahoma from New Orleans, Amelia retains partial corporeality; she can eat and manipulate objects, but she can’t make physical contact with the living—even romantic interest Joshua Mayhew. His sister, Jillian, wheedles Amelia into attending a party crashed by evil Kade and his dead cohorts, who announce they’ll kill one person a week until Amelia joins them in their grim afterworld. A failed plan to blow up the bridge that serves as gateway between worlds prompts the evil ones to speed up their timeline. Beyond vague biblical allusions, what motivates the nonliving, good or evil, remains unclear; the quasi-religious worldbuilding doesn’t reference or build on familiar myths or paradigms that resonate with readers. As the title suggests, the pace is funereal, and pausing to take in mundane events like prom squanders needed momentum. The issue of whether Amelia and Josh will finally “do it” aims to build suspense but seems borrowed from a story with lower stakes. Scenes in the evil afterworld and its gateway bring the novel to intermittent, imaginative life, but it’s not enough to keep readers’ attention.
The thin plot spreads itself across nearly 400 pages, and characters spend more time discussing what to do than actually doing it: a miss. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)Pub Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-202681-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
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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