Strictly for dedicated category-romance fans.
This ill-begotten series conclusion offers ample proof (evidently some is needed) that genocide and category romance don’t mix.
Imprisoned by Calliope (Hera), Cronus’ partner in pantheonic crime, pregnant Kate gives birth while Cronus looks on lustfully. Calliope, besotted with Kate’s husband, Henry (Hades), is intent on eliminating their newborn son, Milo, so Kate offers herself to Cronus in exchange for his protection. (Olympian incest—Cronus is Kate’s grandfather and Henry, her uncle—is unsettlingly clear but not discussed.) When Kate’s rescued and forced to leave Milo behind, the bargain collapses. Cronus expresses his disappointment by eliminating Athens. Millions die. (Vague descriptions of the collateral damage mainly serve to show Kate’s compassion.) Soon Cronus will be free to pursue his long-term goal: wiping out humanity and his Olympian children. Walter (Zeus) convenes the council, who lament how dire things are, while Kate demonstrates spunk and her commitment to Henry, repeatedly in need of rescuing, by taking action. In numbing detail, the immortals obsess over one another’s passions. The humorless navel-gazing and endless meetings in Olympus’ floating boardroom grow drearily claustrophobic (maladroit writing doesn’t help). Comfortably distant from the mayhem below, endowed with eternal youth, beauty and superhero powers, these immortals lack a vital attribute: the human interest that makes readers care.
Strictly for dedicated category-romance fans. (Fantasy. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-373-21067-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
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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