A timely novel about empowered teens.
A boy, infuriated with injustices in his world and community, learns how to fight back.
Cole Renner is a White sophomore at August Mersy High School in Chicago. His principal has labeled him a troublemaker for daring to take action against injustices—just like his father, who is currently a prisoner in Cook County Jail after leading a protest to save a neighborhood public school. Struggling with his father’s recent sentencing, Cole lashes out and spray-paints the F-word multiple times on school property. Caught by Mr. Nachman, his English teacher, he is offered a choice: face suspension or clean it off and write two poems every week about other words starting with F. Choosing the latter option, Cole writes about the injustices that surround him and his schoolmates, who are of diverse cultural backgrounds. Despite his initial reluctance, he finds solace in poetry, and it becomes an outlet for each new wrong that Cole and those he cares about face. The teen characters’ discussions of issues such as deportation and racism may inspire young readers who are fed up with witnessing inequities, though this first-person novel tackles many concepts in its five-month timeline, causing events to be rushed and detracting from some of their impact. However, the author admirably showcases the power young people hold when they come together and speak out against a biased system.
A timely novel about empowered teens. (discussion guide) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-952536-26-7
Page Count: 365
Publisher: Cross Your Heart
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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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