A well-intentioned story of trust, love, and family.
A high school romance full of love—and turbulence.
When new boy Jamie, a Californian transplanted to Texas, strolls into the high school cafeteria, Cara immediately falls for him, and when their eyes meet, he also feels their instant connection. Over the span of the school year, the two lovebirds experience classic high school romance milestones, from meeting each other’s parents and attending a party with underage drinking to navigating friendship drama. Throughout it all, Cara and Jamie learn how to navigate their relationship. The story opens with the dramatic moment when a young woman, whom readers will quickly recognize is Cara, frantically calls 911 and tells the dispatcher that although she did not realize she was pregnant, she has just given birth to a baby boy at home alone. The narrative then moves back in time seven months, to that fateful day in the cafeteria, with the storyline unfolding in alternating first-person narration from Cara and Jamie. Combining lighter teen romance moments, such as stolen kisses by a locker, with heavier content around the pregnancy and its attendant fallout, the novel highlights different family dynamics that readers may resonate with, but depth is undermined by a lack of subtlety in the way characters’ innermost thoughts and feelings are continually explicitly spelled out. While sincere and earnest, the writing is unpolished and the dialogue awkward. Main characters default to White; there is some racial diversity in the supporting cast.
A well-intentioned story of trust, love, and family. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-990158-74-2
Page Count: 334
Publisher: 5310 Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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