Pippa’s fresh, up-to-date voice is muted by her misery, making for gray-tone images rather than the dynamism of color.
Pippa Greene is back in her hometown trying to sort out her confusing relationship with Dylan.
He was mostly out of sight in Depth of Field (2014), probably not a bad place for him. He’s taking a gap year before attending college; Pippa’s still in high school. The main reason for Dylan’s year off is that he’s just finished cancer therapy, a secret he’s shared with Pippa but few others. Meanwhile, he’s active with traveling rock bands and may be forming a romantic connection to fellow rocker Muse. Pippa is frustratingly slow to understand what readers will recognize immediately: Dylan has lost interest in her. Supported by her best friend, Dace, and fellow photographer Ben, distracted by sorting through the photographs taken by her recently deceased father, and at odds with her concerned mother, Pippa just barely muddles along. By the end, it’s clear that Ben harbors romantic feelings for her, surely setting up another emotional roller coaster in a coming volume. Lacking the inside look at the photography world that enlivened the previous outing—although Pippa keeps camera in hand here, too—romance is required to carry the full load of the plot. But Dylan is disappointing, and there isn’t enough of the promising Ben.
Pippa’s fresh, up-to-date voice is muted by her misery, making for gray-tone images rather than the dynamism of color. (Fiction. 11-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-77041-232-3
Page Count: 200
Publisher: ECW Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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