by Laura McNeal ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 26, 2016
Expert pacing will keep readers turning the pages until they know Thisbe's fate.
A girl disappears after last being seen standing on a bridge: she must have jumped…right?
Reeling after boyfriend Clay, for whom she has jeopardized her future, dumps her, Thisbe takes his car and drives around Southern California’s Coronado Island, ending up on the bridge between the island and the mainland. She's seen by Fen, a newcomer to the island, and Graycie, watching on the bridge's cameras. And then she's gone, leaving sister Ted, crush Jerome, and other people in Coronado all wondering the same thing: what happened to Thisbe? Did she jump? Or could there be another explanation? Like an actual investigation, there are so many possibilities, so many people with pieces of information. But this novel is less of a whodunit and more of a what-happens-next. And what does happen has a surprising twist or two. While Thisbe's fate is somewhat uncertain, readers follow her along with those she’s left behind, so the book is not as suspenseful as it might be. The third-person narration moves from character to character, lending the investigation a quickly paced authority, but the story naturally feels disjointed due to so many character voices.
Expert pacing will keep readers turning the pages until they know Thisbe's fate. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-375-87079-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
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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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