by Lurlene McDaniel ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
A standard weeper.
The lives of three high schoolers become deeply entangled around the birth of a child.
After his mother’s death, Dawson is furious that he and his father have moved to a small town in Tennessee. Then he spots magnetic Sloan, whose sexy voice and dynamic presence rock the stage. Lani is attracted to Dawson’s easy good looks, but she never even talks to him in school. Unprotected sex, once, sweeps Sloan and Dawson into a relationship they never wanted. Sloan dreams of being a rock star, and Dawson is on track for college and career. It isn’t until after the baby, Gabriel, is born with asthma and in need of around-the-clock care that Sloan runs off, and now nursing student Lani moves directly into Dawson’s life. The story spans a decade, laboriously detailing Sloan’s travails with the band (complete with drugs and sex) and Lani and Dawson’s as they care for Gabriel but deny themselves their growing love for one another. All three of the young, white adults must rearrange their original goals to accommodate life’s terrain, struggling with their own ambitions, love, disappointment, and devastating grief. The tale spools along like a Hallmark television drama, the author’s third-person narrative dispassionate and bland despite the book’s emotional landscape.
A standard weeper. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-74421-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 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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