Wildly real and bursting with all the romance and pain of coming into oneself.
Gracie defends the new boy with her slingshot, marking the beginning of a transformative semester.
Before winter break, sophomore Gracie Welles’ heart is broken. Her biology teacher, Mr. Sorrentino, announces his engagement, destroying the illusion of a connection she’s imagined. She leaves boarding school to visit her fantasy-prone mother. Her financially supportive but physically absent father has another family; they don’t know about the existence of Gracie and her 34-year-old mom, and Gracie worries that someday she’ll end up trapped in love purgatory like her mother. She brings her slingshot back to school with her, a comfort object from a difficult childhood. Soon she puts it to use: Witnessing some seniors ganging up on a new boy, she lets loose some very carefully aimed gravel. Gracie escapes with the victim, Wade Scholfield, and after some persistence on his part, they become friends. As they grow closer, Gracie pushes him away; she’s terrified of being in love. But some things are inevitable, and Gracie finds herself on a rocky path toward realizing her feelings and growing into an entirely different person than the one once obsessed with her teacher. Gracie’s a powerhouse: incredibly acerbic, prone to lashing out, and painfully relatable. She and Wade are magnetic together, but it’s Gracie’s carefully drawn growth that buoys her story into one that is truly memorable. All major characters are White.
Wildly real and bursting with all the romance and pain of coming into oneself. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-25300-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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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