The large cast of angst-y characters with their equally daunting number of angst-y issues impedes deep exploration of any...
A torn family reunites years after a bitter divorce.
Lila and Robert’s divorce resulted in shared custody of their three daughters and their Long Island beach home. Eventually each remarries and has a new baby—Ray and Sasha, respectively—who grow up sharing their half sisters and a vacation-house bedroom, though their parents’ continued hostilities prevent them from meeting. Consequently, both children create imaginary playmate versions of the other based on objects left in their shared room. Both also privately grapple with their relationship, finding themselves not-quite twins, not-quite siblings, and not-quite roommates, though other characters seemingly use these definitions to avoid examining the messy family dynamics. Eventually a new, shared summer job initiates an email exchange between mixed-race Sasha and white Ray, increasing their mutual fascination, which is then complicated when their chance meeting ignites romance. Meanwhile, their half sister’s engagement party forces the extended family together, with predictably disastrous results. But soon family tragedy creates a tentative truce. Injections throughout of additional issues of race (brown-skinned Robert was adopted as a toddler from Bangladesh by white parents, and Lila is also white) and class (Robert’s “new money” versus Lila’s “old money” values) attempt profundity but more often just distract from Sasha and Ray’s potentially interesting connection.
The large cast of angst-y characters with their equally daunting number of angst-y issues impedes deep exploration of any particular character or idea. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-73689-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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
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
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