by Lana Wood Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2021
A much-needed but disappointing depiction of a female coder.
Teen coder Skylar gets distracted by romance in her bid to win an academic competition.
Sixteen-year-old Skylar has her future all planned out: Her Study Buddy flashcard app will help her team win the national Scholastic Exposition, which will in turn help her get into Stanford. And her debilitating migraines are mostly under control with new medication—as long as she avoids stress. But her school’s competition team still needs one more member, and supersmart Joey will only agree if Skylar helps her find out whether her charismatic debate team partner, Zane, likes her. Ruling out more traditional methods, Skylar quickly builds Requite, an app that matches teens if they upload one another’s pictures. Thinking Study Buddy would be her ticket to success, Skylar grows frustrated as Requite instead grows in popularity. And does Zane think she built the app to match with him? The writing overall fails to engage; the ambitious narrative includes countless text messages, emails, and chat transcripts that often feel awkward and forced. With an overly complicated setup, including an underdeveloped side plot about a guy who led Skylar on, the story gets so bogged down in details that the pacing drags. Main characters are White, in keeping with the lack of diversity in Skylar’s school.
A much-needed but disappointing depiction of a female coder. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-66040-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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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
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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