An exceedingly well-written, powerful, and suspenseful novel that lights the path toward truthfulness and healing.
When high schooler Emma learns that her father has been arrested, she suspects that it is connected to her best friend, but she can’t imagine how much her world is about to change.
Emma quickly learns that her dad has been accused of inappropriate sexual contact by Hannah, the girl who rescued her from an otherwise friendless existence. The accusation is a bombshell that threatens to destroy the girls’ relationship as well as Emma’s family, which consists of her mom, dad, and 6-year-old brother. The gripping story unfolds in chapters alternating between Emma’s first-person narration of the present day and second-person narration of the past. This device builds suspense and helps readers string together clues. What was the scandal that made Emma’s family move from San Francisco to a small town in Oregon? Why does she sleep with a knife under her pillow? Vivid descriptions bring scenes to life while imaginative metaphors compassionately depict Emma’s interior struggles. In less deft hands the inclusion of fairy tales written by Emma in her diary might feel heavy-handed, but here they add to the thematic substance. Depictions of forensic interviewing and children’s advocacy centers add to the believability of the plot. A content warning foreshadows the difficult topics addressed. All main characters are White.
An exceedingly well-written, powerful, and suspenseful novel that lights the path toward truthfulness and healing. (resources) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-694-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
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
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.
A wary teen wonders if she should run when people come looking for her.
Lucy Smith was raised by her white father, who said little about her mother. Following his death and her stepmother’s abandonment, Lucy entered the foster care system at 14. Her stepmother revealed that Lucy’s birth mom was Native American, but her social worker urged her to keep that quiet. Battered by her time in the foster care system, it’s no wonder that 18-year-old Lucy is cautious when she’s approached by a man who says he’s an attorney who helps Native American foster kids connect with their families and communities. He introduces her to a friend who reveals to Lucy that she knows her Ojibwe maternal relatives—but a wary Lucy refuses her offer to learn more. Someone is stalking her, after all, and the FBI is investigating the bomb that went off in the diner where she worked—an event she’s sure targeted her. This stand-alone from bestseller Boulley, who’s an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes characters her fans will recognize from previous works. The action scenes are mediated by ruminations on the failings of the foster care system and strong portrayals of Lucy’s relationship with her father and her complicated identity. Ardent book lover Lucy is a sympathetic narrator whose strong sense of justice is coupled with a deep acceptance of others.
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements. (content warning, author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328533
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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