by Laurie Boyle Crompton ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2017
Introduces, but doesn’t always deeply examine, many serious topics.
Rory’s refusal to process her mother’s suicide is challenged by Hayes, who is facing his own demons through Alcoholics Anonymous.
Since her mother’s suicide, dreadlocked Rory has retreated into casual hookups and secretly painting graffiti lions around New Paltz. (Aside from her dreadlocks, Rory seems to be white by default in her majority-white upstate New York town.) When Hayes, a white newcomer, discovers Rory’s secret, he blackmails her into socializing with him. Hayes also encourages Rory to rebuild her relationship with her police-sergeant father. Immune to Hayes’ suggestions and confident in her ability to control every situation, Rory instead attempts to transition Hayes into another casual hookup and painting accomplice. He frustrates her plans, however, by revealing his reluctance to engage in either due to his ongoing involvement in an AA program for his substance-use disorder. Rather than supporting him, self-absorbed Rory often views Hayes’ commitment to his recovery as inconvenient. Her callousness may be fueled by grief, but it can still be uncomfortable to watch her potentially jeopardize Hayes’ sobriety and reject his attempts to build real relationships. Subsequently their interactions often have more undercurrents of anger than playful, quirky opposites-attract banter, and the story’s resolution skims over the seriousness of the emotional challenges that both will continue to face. A sexual assault storyline is also underdeveloped.
Introduces, but doesn’t always deeply examine, many serious topics. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3605-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
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by Laurie Boyle Crompton ; illustrated by Laurie Boyle Crompton
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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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