A light, escapist read.
Seventeen-year-old Louise Trevelyan’s sleepy Cornish village witnesses the arrival of the wealthy, glamorous Cardews.
Lou has a bustling, loving, ordinary family—and dreams of something more. Her older sister is content to marry and settle down, but at low tide Lou sneaks across the causeway and into the empty Cardew House, where she writes installments in her ongoing adventure story. When 23-year-old Robert and his sister, the anachronistically named Caitlin, come down from London for the summer, Lou is drawn into their circle, becoming a pet project and confidante for Caitlin, whose fast-living friends flock to her sumptuously decadent parties. Robert and Lou initially clash, but their underlying romantic attraction is heavily signaled. Beneath the sparkle, Lou senses the orphaned, noble Cardews’ dysfunction, though concrete facts are tantalizingly mysterious. As the summer wears on and the gap between Lou’s indulgences and her family’s modest lifestyle becomes more glaring, Lou faces the difficult question of what next: Should she find a local boy and abandon her dream of becoming a novelist? Throw herself at wealthy American Charlie? Face her true feelings about Robert (who is engaged to Charlie’s sister)? While the story is charmingly frothy and the descriptions of clothing delight, there is little chemistry between Lou and Robert, and the characters feel as insubstantial as the glossy veneer on their high-society lives. Main characters are white; there are significant black secondary characters.
A light, escapist read. (Historical romance. 13-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12722-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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
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
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