Delightful timey-wimey adventure that would make smashing television.
Numerous challenges bedevil a pair of time travelers from 1934 Chicago.
Genevieve Newhouse is a brilliant physicist, so used to being ignored next to her sparkling sisters that she’s developed the ability to turn invisible. Never one to let a little transparency get her down, 18-year-old Genevieve becomes a thief, stealing library books in order to perfect her invention, the “important, dramatic, ETCH-MY-NAME-IN-HISTORY accomplishment” that will finally get her noticed. A devastating accident that could bring about the apocalypse certainly would have done the trick—if it weren’t for intervention from Ash Hargreaves, also 18, who’s run away from his religious extremist community. His desire to prevent a terrible tragedy grew so strong that he gained the ability to time travel. In Genevieve’s moment of crisis, he yanks the two of them back 41 years, from the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair—where Genevieve was exhibiting a cyclotron—to the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Luckily the stranded teens (both cued white) meet the brilliant Matilda Flemming, a Black physics genius, who’s being exploited by an arrogant professor. Ash, Genevieve, and Matilda are up against racist and sexist physicists, paranoid capitalists—and time itself. They still find spare moments for both romance and heavy-duty personal growth. Ash, who tries to redeem the worst people in his life and never needs to outshine his talented love interest, is genuinely heartwarming, and the friendship between Genevieve and Miss Flemming is a joy.
Delightful timey-wimey adventure that would make smashing television. (Historical paranormal. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780823458295
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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