A self-contained working-class lad falls for his brother’s ex-girlfriend, which in turn triggers a rift between the siblings. In this sequel to Fighting Rueben Wolfe (2001), Zusak’s taciturn yet surprisingly eloquent hero Cameron doesn’t feel like a winner, but instead has “to scavenge for moments of alrightness.” Overshadowed by his older brothers Steven and Ruben, Cameron, who has no friends except for the other members of the so-called “Wolfe pack,” longs for love and acceptance. He spends his nights wandering around alone, almost always winding up in front of Stephanie’s house, a girl who once called him a loser. The one thing that “whispered okayness” to Cameron was his words, which is what he calls his nascent writing. In contrast, Cameron’s handsome and charismatic brother Ruben, a fighter and a ladies’ man, lives strictly in the moment. Cameron likes and admires Ruben’s current flame, a pretty, classy girl named Octavia. Although not at all surprised when Ruben breaks it off with her, Cameron is simply amazed when Octavia shows up in front of Stephanie’s house and asks Cameron if he would rather “come and stand outside” her place. Concurrently gritty and lyrical with a gruesomely humorous set piece involving the funeral of a neighbor’s dog, Zusak explores the deep if inexpressible desire to create, as well as the intersection between family loyalty and romantic affection. Poignant yet unsentimental, his coming-of-age exploration will touch the heart. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-439-38949-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003
Riveting, brutal and beautifully told.
A devastating tale of greed and secrets springs from the summer that tore Cady’s life apart.
Cady Sinclair’s family uses its inherited wealth to ensure that each successive generation is blond, beautiful and powerful. Reunited each summer by the family patriarch on his private island, his three adult daughters and various grandchildren lead charmed, fairy-tale lives (an idea reinforced by the periodic inclusions of Cady’s reworkings of fairy tales to tell the Sinclair family story). But this is no sanitized, modern Disney fairy tale; this is Cinderella with her stepsisters’ slashed heels in bloody glass slippers. Cady’s fairy-tale retellings are dark, as is the personal tragedy that has led to her examination of the skeletons in the Sinclair castle’s closets; its rent turns out to be extracted in personal sacrifices. Brilliantly, Lockhart resists simply crucifying the Sinclairs, which might make the family’s foreshadowed tragedy predictable or even satisfying. Instead, she humanizes them (and their painful contradictions) by including nostalgic images that showcase the love shared among Cady, her two cousins closest in age, and Gat, the Heathcliff-esque figure she has always loved. Though increasingly disenchanted with the Sinclair legacy of self-absorption, the four believe family redemption is possible—if they have the courage to act. Their sincere hopes and foolish naïveté make the teens’ desperate, grand gesture all that much more tragic.
Riveting, brutal and beautifully told. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-385-74126-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
PROFILES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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