Adeptly written but full of inconsistencies.
A teen fleeing from international terrorists takes refuge in a small town in Montana.
Sixteen-year-old Sophia, daughter of American diplomats, arrives in small-town Waterford, Montana, less than 48 hours after a traumatic incident inside a safe house in Tunis. Though fluent in 14 languages, an expert skier, a concert-level pianist, and a skilled survivalist accustomed to carrying a loaded pistol at all times, Sophia hasn’t been to school in 18 months. However, she quickly makes friends and is intrigued by a senior boy named Aksel, whose marksmanship saves her, on the first day at school, from an attack by a grizzly bear. Aksel lives alone in a lush mountain home, his parents having died in a plane crash two years before; he confesses to remembering Sophia from seeing her inside the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. She doesn’t question this coincidence, preferring to dwell at length on Aksel’s stunning green eyes. But a man she vaguely recognizes seems to be stalking her. Rosenhan’s debut is absolutely crammed with action, international name-dropping and intrigue, and sizzling, though PG, scenes between Sophia and Aksel. It’s missing consistency, clearly defined characters, and a well-developed plot—many things happen, but not all of them make sense. Sophia’s desires are never clear, and she often doesn’t ask obvious questions. Neither Sophia nor Aksel are credible high school teens; they read much older. Main characters are white.
Adeptly written but full of inconsistencies. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0303-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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 gripping tribute to resilience.
A girl with amnesia and a boy suspected of harming his girlfriend overcome adversity to find the answers they seek.
A 17-year-old girl wakes up in a ditch, disoriented and with no memory of who she is or what happened. Found by the Alton, Oregon, police, she is brought to the station. Soon after, Wayne Boone, a man claiming to be her father, shows up. He has photos of her on his phone and her high school ID card, with the name Mary Boone. Wayne convinces the police to release Mary into his custody. The more time Mary spends with Wayne, however, the weirder things get: He’s unaware of her food allergy, and as her memories start to return, they don’t conform with Wayne’s versions of her life. In the town of Washington City, across the Willamette River, Drew is in a bad place. His girlfriend, Lola, has disappeared, and Drew was the last person to see her. His adoptive dads and cousin are the only ones who support him; everyone else, including the sheriff, thinks he’s responsible for Lola’s disappearance. Intent on finding Lola, Drew finds help in an unlikely ally, Lola’s best friend, Autumn, who is the sheriff’s daughter. But will they find Lola in time? The two immersive storylines bring to life the trials and frustrations each main character faces in this debut, which is a thrilling delight right up to the unexpected and bittersweet conclusion. Most characters are cued white; one of Drew’s dads is Guatemalan.
A gripping tribute to resilience. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781728270111
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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