A tense, no-holds-barred page-turner.
A privileged girl grapples with trauma and mental health—while bodies turn up in the woods.
After her release from a psychiatric hospital, highly medicated Magdalena is exiled from Manhattan society and sent to her grandparents’ posh Washington state vacation home. She reconnects with the set from her childhood summer vacations there, including Rob (post–glow-up and crushing on her since age 13), and volunteers at a woman’s rehab shelter in a nearby town with other friends. But when she goes in the woods to think, she encounters a “Wildboy” named Bo with whom she immediately connects. In the first narrative arc, tension comes from her blossoming romance and in the slow reveal, via journal-entry flashbacks, of the dark past that prompted her breakdown. She fully owns up to racist, classist attitudes that enabled her scandal and considers her mistakes unforgivable. As she’s drawn deeper into Bo’s off-the-grid world (for example, meeting his parents, who push for her to get off her high-powered meds), the bodies of dead women are discovered and she hears of local, mythical, drug-dealing murderer Dr. Goodnight. While certain plot elements ring false, the quick pace allows readers to gloss over them and dive into the twisted mystery as Magdalena tries to figure out whom to trust—and if she can even trust herself. Sensitive readers should heed the book’s content warning and brace for suicidal themes and violence. Most characters are White.
A tense, no-holds-barred page-turner. (mental health resources) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72821-627-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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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