An unusual retelling that doesn’t quite cohere.
Wealthy and confident Nia, a jewelry designer for the rich and famous, has everything going for her.
All she needs is the perfect partner. Nia's past relationships have ended for mysterious reasons. Despite the warnings of her brothers, Nia swiftly becomes engaged to new paramour Marcus. Rumors about him abound, and he has his own history he’d rather keep hidden. Perhaps Marcus is a bit strange, with his blue-black beard and controlling ways, but as long as he follows Nia’s one rule, they should be fine: don’t, under any circumstances, enter her private workroom in the basement. Told in Marcus’ and Nia’s alternating third-person perspectives, the story neither quite works as a shorter tale or as a sketch of what could be a fuller novel, falling somewhere unsatisfyingly in between. The characters lack depth and come across as ideas rather than real people. While it touches on interesting ideas about abuse and a woman’s autonomy in marriage, the work doesn’t do so strongly enough to make a lasting impression. However, Blackman’s feminist twists on the lesser-known fairy tale “Bluebeard” are interesting, and a climactic reveal raises intriguing questions about legacy and violence that would be fascinating if explored further. Barrett’s delicate, eerie shadow cutout illustrations are nice additions to the unsettling atmosphere. Characters are racially ambiguous.
An unusual retelling that doesn’t quite cohere. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64259-577-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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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