by K. Sello Duiker ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2018
At its core, this posthumously published South African import is a heartwarming story about friendship and persistence.
Magic, adventure, and folklore come together in Duiker’s final novel.
In Phola, where children can speak to dogs and other animals, 11-year-old Nolitye has a compulsion for collecting stones. One day she comes across a stone unlike any of the ones she keeps stored in a bucket under her bed. This one is magical, granting wishes and giving her the urge to giggle, and it’s also going to change her life. Nolitye soon learns from the spirit residing within it that she must find four other missing pieces to unite the stone and restore its full power. Only Nolitye, who has gifts she never imagined, can complete this task. However, there is evil in her village, and dark forces conspire to take the stone away, but with faithful friends Bheki and Four Eyes by her side, Nolitye is up to the challenge. With evocatively descriptive prose and a trio of strong protagonists along with a secondary cast of unique personalities (such as Rotten Nellie, the class bully, or MaMtonga, the terrifying witch next door), Duiker beautifully captures a corner of South Africa (the main characters are black). With strong elements of magical realism, the novel is both charming and whimsical with several heart-thumping moments that make it difficult to put down.
At its core, this posthumously published South African import is a heartwarming story about friendship and persistence. (Fantasy. 10-adult)Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-911115-43-4
Page Count: 210
Publisher: Cassava Republic Press
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
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
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by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
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
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