A moving, complex and satisfying import. (Fiction. 14 & up)
Seventeen-year-old goth Maja accidentally cuts off the end of her thumb in class with an electric saw.
It’s horrifying, but like most things in her life, she’s a spectator as well as a participant. A few days later, she goes on her usual scheduled visit to her emotionally distant mother, Jana, but finds no one home—all weekend. Quite by accident, that leads her to stumble in on a neighbor’s party, where she meets Justin. In a gently nuanced translation from its original Swedish, their initial sexual encounter—painful then surprisingly satisfying—is both tender and funny. Finally, as bits of evidence are gradually revealed, Maja learns the truth of her odd, emotionally bruising relationship with Jana: Her mother has just been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Although that accounts for her mother’s lifelong distance, it’s nearly impossible for Maja to come to grips with it. Sex and alcohol pervade the tale, but it’s Maja’s attempts to understand and cope with her mother that define it. While the Swedish setting, place names and cultural differences add flavor, Maja’s fully authentic first-person voice as she relates her internal struggles will carry readers past any unfamiliarity. The cover art is strangely inappropriate; Maja, with her nearly shaved, dyed black hair and goth clothing looks nothing like the pink-haired girl depicted.
A moving, complex and satisfying import. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: July 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-91-7547-011-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Stockholm Text
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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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