Rider’s debut novel follows two high schoolers who impulsively leave their hometown of Waden, Oregon, on a trek across the country.
Jake Holden Barnes is depressed. He’s only a few months away from graduating high school, but his inattention and indifference have put him at risk of failing both gym and art—unfortunate, since Jake is one of the most prolific and talented artists at school. When the principal gives him the option to paint a mural on the school grounds to make up his art grade, Jake jumps at the chance. When he finishes, however, something is still missing from the piece. “You forgot to sign it,” he is informed by Smoke, the mysterious, attractive girl who is a guitarist in a local band. When the two see each other again at a party after prom, Smoke entices Jake to drop everything and go on a road trip in her van. They set out on an adventure that takes them clear across the country, along the way picking up a circus worker, a hitchhiker, and a fainting goat. They also learn more about each other and about themselves: Smoke reveals painful demons from her past, while Jake struggles with the crushing weight of his depression. Against a backdrop of the changing natural beauty of the American landscape, the two form a remarkable bond that transcends friendship. Rider’s realistic characters are complex, flawed individuals. Her portrayal of Jake’s depression is subtle and authentic, due in large part to the author’s personal experience with the affliction. Rider develops a clear sense of place with her depiction of the changing landscape between Oregon and New York. Some readers may feel that Rider dwells too much on introspection, as both Jake and Smoke seem to philosophize more than the average teen, and the prose can be repetitive, with the phrase “to be honest” almost reaching the centennial mark. However, readers will quickly forgive these minor infractions in favor of Rider’s memorable characters and vivid atmosphere, and many will hope for more from this promising young author.
An accomplished debut that will resonate far beyond a YA audience.
Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2014
ISBN: 978-1500365479
Page Count: 270
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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