In this dumbed-down dystopia, noble ends, vague notions of “freedom,” trump any amount of collateral damage, excruciatingly...
This uneven trilogy ends with plenty of violent action, leaving tough questions on the table.
Acing the application process, Alenna wins a spot with Liam and Gadya on the first team dispatched from Island Alpha, aka “the wheel,” to retake the United Northern Alliance (Canada, the United States and Mexico, all fused in a totalitarian state). Separated from allies, Alenna’s sent to the Hellgrounds, scientific labs concealed in bucolic New Iowa, where scientists carry out unspeakable experiments on drugged human subjects and build monstrous cyborgs. These focused action scenes, Stasse’s strength, deliver suspense and surprise. But the narrative rationale for the UNA, intent on world domination, is weak, sketchily borrowed from some drab, Soviet-era archetype. Unimaginative worldbuilding doesn’t help; place names are familiar U.S. versions with “New” tacked on in front (no rationale’s offered for “New Venezuela”). Crime and punishment can’t happen 24/7; someone has to mind the store. How do ordinary citizens live? What do they think is happening? Alenna and company, childishly self-absorbed, sidestep war’s harsh realities; the costs of victory and defeat are borne by disposable characters. Gadya’s gratuitous violence doesn’t recoil on her; Alenna’s passing regrets don’t lead her to change course.
In this dumbed-down dystopia, noble ends, vague notions of “freedom,” trump any amount of collateral damage, excruciatingly detailed, in human lives. (Dystopian adventure. 12-18)Pub Date: July 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-3271-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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