A cliffhanger-ish ending dangles the promise of more of the same.
A wan time-travel tale delivers a clichéd romance and a little history lesson.
Lydia's grandfather has been haunted by the disappearance of his father when he was a child in 1944. He spends his days tramping through the abandoned Camp Hero for evidence of the Montauk Project ("the East Coast Area 51"), which he believes is responsible. While examining yet another overgrown bunker with him one day, Lydia finds a door open and makes her way through a series of mostly empty corridors to a room with a beautiful boy and a mysterious chamber. She plunges into the chamber and is taken back to 1944, to the active Camp Hero where her great-grandfather is stationed. Coincidences pile up: Her great-great-grandfather, a doctor, just happens to be there, too, with her great-great-aunt, just her age. She is welcomed into the family with almost no questions asked, from which point she watches for her opportunity to prevent her great-grandfather's disappearance. Oh, and the beautiful boy, Wes, is also there, to prevent her from changing time. The history is conveyed mostly through Lydia's denseness as she encounters such unfamiliar concepts as a girdle and "The Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B." Eyes will roll as Wes and Lydia declare undying love in scenes dripping with syrup; lids will droop as Wes tortuously explains the Montauk Project.
A cliffhanger-ish ending dangles the promise of more of the same. (Science fiction/romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-208105-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
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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