A compelling premise that never quite shines.
How many of your past lives do you remember?
Janie, Cass, and Izzy are there on the beach when the plane falls into the ocean. They’re girls with friends, brothers, and ex-boyfriends in common, but they’ll bond quickly in the days after the crash. Izzy knows intuitively that her twin brother, Israel, is in that plane, and it is soon confirmed that he was accompanied by Cass’ newly ex-boyfriend, Shane, and Janie’s neighbor-and-secret-friend-outside-of-school, Nate. But why were the boys flying? And was it by suicide or accident that they lost control? In alternating chapters (first-person accounts post-accident by the girls and third-person narration pre-accident for the boys), a bigger mystery unfolds, seemingly linked to Israel’s beliefs about the transmigration of souls and Izzy’s belief that he and his friends are now the dolphins she keeps seeing near the Texas Gulf Coast island on which they live. While the multiperspective construction makes narrative sense for a story where readers are expected to be mystified, it’s hard to keep track of whose chapter is whose when all the voices sound the same. As the book goes on, the prose becomes less purple, though it’s hard not to lose the feeling of woo-woo given the focus on reincarnation when no religion is invoked. Most characters default to White; Izzy and Israel are Venezuelan American.
A compelling premise that never quite shines. (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-51803-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
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