The book offers a compelling twist on the body-swap trope, but this still doesn’t quite elevate an otherwise standard...
A teen swaps bodies with her best friend after a fatal car crash, but with a twist.
Rich, stylish, high school senior Morgan Frost and her best friend, whip-smart junior Olivia Burnham, have bright futures ahead of them until Olivia is killed in a car crash. She is survived by Morgan and the girls’ boyfriends, brothers Clay and Nathan Claymore. Well…not so fast. Olivia is alive, but she’s trapped inside Morgan’s long-legged body instead of her own petite frame. Horrified, she tries to get a handle on Morgan’s privileged life, eventually turning up sordid secrets, including her friend’s affair with a much older, and very creepy, politician and disturbing details surrounding the death of Morgan’s mother 10 years ago. Olivia, who narrates, deep dives into the darkness that lurked underneath Morgan’s picture-perfect exterior, putting herself in danger in the process. Olivia’s struggle to avoid losing herself as she’s forced to live Morgan’s very different life is realistically rendered, and Aguirre (The Wolf Lord, 2018, etc.) builds considerable suspense, but the abrupt payoff after so much time spent digging into Morgan’s mother’s suspicious death is disappointing. While the main characters are white, diversity can be found in Morgan’s multiethnic group of artistic friends.
The book offers a compelling twist on the body-swap trope, but this still doesn’t quite elevate an otherwise standard thriller. (Romantic thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: July 17, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7653-9758-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
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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