When Dane Rossi, a young English pianist substitute-teaching Bea’s music-appreciation class, hears Bea play, he insists she could have a career as a concert pianist and urges her to apply to his alma mater, Juilliard, even as their intense, mutual attraction complicates her choices.
Bea’s mother went to Juilliard and also dreamed of becoming a concert pianist, but she died giving birth to Bea, who’s sure her father and older brother hold her responsible. Entirely self-taught, Bea’s kept her dreams secret. Now, blossoming under Dane’s guidance, she accepts his offer to introduce her to his Juilliard mentor, a great pianist. But when her relationship with Dane takes a turn toward intimacy on their trip to New York, she’s both confused and thrilled. The story’s strongest when it focuses on this relationship, honoring its complexity and neither oversimplifying it nor demonizing either of them. While that’s deftly handled, other plot points strain credulity. Readers will have difficulty buying Bea’s near perfection as a classical pianist given that her only instruction has been “from books and online and stuff.” After all, a crucial element of classical musical training is feedback from teachers on student performance. While Bea’s family is underdeveloped, her deep guilt at having been born seems more than a tad overblown.
A compassionate but clearsighted look at student-teacher liaisons, somewhat diminished by an over-the-top plot setup. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6490-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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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. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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