Suspenseful, poignant, and romantic: well worth the read
Mystery, romance, time travel, and danger…this one has it all.
Cassandra would rather be home alone in Ohio or gallivanting around Europe with her best friend, but she’s stuck in a snooty beach town in Massachusetts on a family vacation. It’s not that she doesn’t love her family; it’s just that there’s absolutely nothing and no one she wants to relate to here. Until she steps onto the private beach attached to their rented house and meets Lawrence, that is. Handsome, courtly, interested in her, and generating an immediate attraction, Lawrence comes from a different world—quite literally: the past. Living in the same house but separated by almost 100 years, Cass and Lawrence fall head over heels for each other, even if they can’t see each other except on their isolated stretch of beach. With access to the Internet, Cass looks into Lawrence’s life only to discover that in his time, he is due to be murdered in a matter of days. Alternating narration between her protagonists, Collins gives her characters voices that evoke their respective times, Cass’ modern, slightly snarky voice contrasting with Lawrence’s formal cadences. Their present-tense accounts present an interesting, often amusing intersection of the Roaring ’20s and the 21st century.
Suspenseful, poignant, and romantic: well worth the read . (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4926-2116-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 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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