A complete miss from an otherwise solid author.
The Beltway sniper shootings and the attacks of 9/11 become the crucible for this exploration of teenage grief and love.
Thirteen months after the 9/11 attacks, 15-year-old Craig wakes up to find that his menagerie of five cats, four dogs, three rabbits, a bird and a guinea pig have all escaped. Meanwhile, Lio, also 15, is using his therapy sessions to explore his feelings for Craig instead of dealing with the death of his twin brother from leukemia. Hunting for the animals, the teens end up arguing over the destruction of the World Trade Center, the damage to the Pentagon and the peculiar allocation of the country's collective grief. Enigmatic characters, emotional manipulation and the convoluted plot keep Moskowitz’s third novel from achieving the impact of her previous works (Invincible Summer, 2011, etc.). Craig is an especially remote character, with somewhat autistic mannerisms, and it's difficult to relate to him through either inner and or interpersonal dialogue. His relationship with Lio is not so much developed as forced. There’s no skill in the treatment of these two high-profile tragedies; they both come across as cheap emotional touchstones rather than opportunities to honestly explore grief, loss and shared sorrow. What with the lost pets, the unclear relationship Craig has with his ex-boyfriend, a suicide hotline and dead siblings, there’s simply too much going on.
A complete miss from an otherwise solid author. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0753-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
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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