For fans only; but their number is legion.
Roth returns to her wildly popular Divergent series with four prequel stories from Four’s viewpoint.
Before he was “Four,” he was Tobias Eaton, the abused and alienated son of Marcus, leader of the Abnegation faction. The stories (really one episodic novella) trace his path from the choice to join Dauntless to his first encounters with Tris, heroine of the trilogy and love of his life. Sufficient information is interwoven to make the world accessible to new readers, while fans will find a surreptitious thrill digging into a taciturn hero’s back story; still, little of real consequence is added to the overall plot. Devotees will undoubtedly relish cameo appearances by several beloved (and loathed) characters, and they will squee over such iconic moments as Four’s earning his nickname, getting his tattoos and learning the dangers of being “Divergent.” More compelling is his gradual transformation from an angry, manipulated and vulnerable victim to a badass loner—still angry and bitter but now tough and determined. Unfortunately, this narrative arc is undercut by the final story and the three rewritten short scenes from the first book, which read almost like bad fan fiction: Once Tris appears, the love-struck Four becomes dithering and goony, gushing about her all-embracing awesomeness and explaining that all his harsh words and actions really meant their exact opposite.
For fans only; but their number is legion. (Dystopian romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: July 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-234521-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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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