by Miranda Kenneally ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021
Edgy, exciting, and grounded in respect.
Two skittish teenagers discover true love through a chance encounter on a ride share.
Seventeen-year-old Mari is a Southerner from Tennessee, visiting Chicago and staying with her dad, stepmother, and stepsister, Sierra. On their way to the Lollapalooza music festival, the girls share a ride with two brothers, and Mari unexpectedly falls for the hunky T.J. The couple hang out together at the concert, and their attraction grows intense as they dance together, but they lose each other in the mosh pit. After a humorous and highly public Twitter search, they come together again—somewhat diffidently, as Mari distrusts romance. T.J.’s natural shyness (he is self-conscious about being an 18-year-old virgin) and Mari’s unwillingness to commit to relationships (the result of anxiety provoked by her parents’ recent divorce, which her emotionally volatile mother is not coping well with) set up a constant game of advance and retreat. The story traces Mari’s personal growth from a place of distrust to a desire to be her own person and follow her gut. Although she resents her father’s betrayal, she warms to her stepsister, whom she describes as one of the best things in her life. The narrative is highly contemporary, with many current pop-culture references, and the sexual content is interlaced with the need for consent. Most characters present White; Sierra is openly bisexual, and her partner is a Black girl.
Edgy, exciting, and grounded in respect. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8416-9
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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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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