by Martin Wilson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2017
A fast-paced yet complex and heart-rending read.
A traumatized abductee returns to his family after having been missing for three years.
Eleven-year-old Sam Walsh was on his way to the mall with his best friend, Josh, when he was abducted by a stranger from his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and taken across the state to Anniston, where he was severely physically and mentally abused. Three years later he returns to his family, seemingly healthy, but as the months go by, the trauma slowly reveals itself as perceived by two narrators: Josh and Sam's older sister, Beth. Sam's return becomes a national media story, and Beth, now a senior in high school, struggles to reidentify herself in the face of new attention from her classmates and the overwhelming upheaval of reconnecting with her lost brother. Josh, struggling to understand his own sexuality, becomes the one person Sam trusts with the discomforting, horrific stories of what happened to him while he was gone. The whole story unfolds in a fast-paced, near-cinematic sweep of Alabama heat, religion, and family drama. Wilson also captures the diversity of one of Alabama’s larger urban centers: though Sam, Beth, and Josh are white, Beth’s friends are African-American and Latina, and the one friend that Sam made while abducted is African-American, to name a few. Readers may find themselves flipping quickly through the Beth narrative to discover the heart of what happened to Sam.
A fast-paced yet complex and heart-rending read. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2782-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
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PROFILES
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
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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SEEN & HEARD
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