by Martha Schabas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2012
A thought-provoking look at femininity and sex, made all the more confusing by that ultimate contact sport—ballet.
Georgia’s first year at a prestigious Toronto ballet academy is fraught with conflicts arising from her parents’ disintegrating marriage and the blurred lines between her awakening sexuality and a most physical art form.
For the 14-year-old, the realization that her father, a married psychiatrist, had an affair with her mother when she was his student in college is one factor leading to her own obsession with her ballet teacher. Every touch in ballet class, meant as a correction to placement, is viewed as erotic. Spiraling downward, she photographs herself in the same pose as an online porn model, wraps the pictures in her thong and leaves them in his desk. Her family and the adults at the academy assume that she was the victim of a nonexistent exploitation, and Georgia is initially unable to voice an explanation or an apology. Another disturbing chain of events at the ballet academy leads a not-quite-thin-enough girl to anorexia. Schabas, in her debut title, does not include much detail about ballet class or rehearsal. Rather, she offers a penetrating glimpse into the troubled world of teen anxiety, compulsive behavior and peer pressure as seen through the eyes of a young woman with heightened sensory perceptions.
A thought-provoking look at femininity and sex, made all the more confusing by that ultimate contact sport—ballet. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-374-38086-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
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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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