by Matthew Boren ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2018
Steeped in nostalgia, this exhausting novel might have been better geared for adults.
The labyrinthine social lives of 1990s high school students unfurl as they write and exchange notes.
Tara plans on netting the role of Sandy in the school’s production of Grease. But when a new ninth-grader named Matt lands the male lead of Danny while Tara is passed over for her coveted role, the ball is set in motion for a year of offstage drama. Told entirely in epistolary format as notes passed back and forth between characters, all of whom seem to be white, this debut novel effectively captures the voice of insecure, duplicitous Tara, whose penchant for cutesy phrases and colloquial writing style are juxtaposed against her poisonous angling in both her romantic relationships and friendships as well as her pointed, cruel othering of her Jewish theater rival, Joy. While the portrayal of the 1990s suburban New England experience is accurate, replete with mainstream cultural references of the time, it’s uncertain whether these will be of any interest to today’s teens. Equally questionable is whether readers will connect with a protagonist so absorbed with the relentless ping-pong machinations of her peer dynamics that she imagines herself a latter-day Anne Frank.
Steeped in nostalgia, this exhausting novel might have been better geared for adults. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47820-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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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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