An uneven but eventually engaging story of first love, family drama and supernatural violence.
“Meet cute” is more like meet violent when Joy Malone gets dragged into supernatural politics and ends up saving the world in this teen paranormal series starter.
Her mom has abandoned the family, her brother is off at college, and she has quit the gymnastics team—all Joy has left is school and her best friend, Monica. When Joy goes to dance her angst away at a nightclub with Monica, she sees the inhuman Indelible Ink and his sister, Invisible Inq—and nobody else does. Her magical Sight makes her a danger to the Scribe siblings, but when Ink attempts to blind her, he accidentally marks her as his own. Taken for Ink’s lehman—a human lover or slave—Joy stumbles into a realm with unwritten rules and an odd courtship with Ink. Initially built on lies, their relationship blossoms, with Joy teaching Ink that there is more to life than duty and Ink showing Joy both magic and love. Their sensual (but not graphic) romance and otherworldly adventures transform Joy from a bland protagonist and a burden into a believable if bewildered heroine. Metcalf does not formally label Ink and his ilk as faeries, but her rich physical descriptions create a complex fey world that coexists uneasily with the industrialized human one.
An uneven but eventually engaging story of first love, family drama and supernatural violence. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: July 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-373-21073-2
Page Count: 382
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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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