Older teens will be deeply moved by this romantic drama and its pairing of sensuality and grief
Two high school students from seemingly different worlds find that their intense chemistry is not the only thing that draws them together in this debut novel.
Though Marion and Kurt are both emotionally withdrawn, they manifest it in different ways: she studiously avoids boys and eschews physical contact, while he engages in frequent meaningless hookups. However when Marion's wild, boundary-pushing friend Lilith throws them together at a party, they can barely keep their hands off each other while they go for a swim in the lake. This touches off a connection between the two that feels at once magnetic and dangerous. The respective agonizing secrets harbored by Marion and Kurt are revealed to readers before the characters share them with each other and establish them both as authentically sympathetic alternating first-person narrators. The dreamy, dialogue-driven text flows easily, and though some may grow impatient with the elusive on-again, off-again nature of their relationship, the pair's sexual tension can’t be denied, and its eventual resolution is steamy and honest in its vulnerability. An ongoing metaphor set up early on about drowning serves the narrative well as both Marion and Kurt are pulled under by their emotions and the demons of their pasts.
Older teens will be deeply moved by this romantic drama and its pairing of sensuality and grief . (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3742-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2015
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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