A queer romance that really goes the distance.
In middle school, Mari and Taylor had a plan: The best friends were going to be on the cross-country team at Jefferson High together.
But a lot has changed since then: Mari’s family moved to a different school district, Taylor covered up her dad’s kidney disease, driving a wedge between them—and the two girls started freshman year estranged and on competing teams. Three years later, when Mari’s single mother is forced to move the family, the two girls finally become teammates. Unfortunately, their complicated history means Mari and Taylor, who are both Black, are anything but friends again. Following an embarrassing public fight, their coach orders them to volunteer at a local animal rescue. While spending their Sundays together walking dogs, the girls finally begin communicating honestly with one another. By being vulnerable about their challenges—Mari’s mother leans on her to help with her younger siblings, Taylor feels pressure to live up to her star athlete father’s reputation, and his illness has taken a toll—they rediscover their friendship and build self-confidence. Told in the girls’ alternating voices, this heartfelt friends-to-rivals-to-lovers romance is a quick, entertaining read. It chronicles the girls’ intricate relationship while also addressing important familial and social themes. While at times Taylor’s and Mari’s voices are difficult to distinguish, and the subplot exploring socioeconomic differences doesn’t get as much development as it deserves, the complexities of the overall story more than carry the narrative.
A queer romance that really goes the distance. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780374389154
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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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