Guess what: There’s another cliffhanger. Stay tuned. Or not.
The mystery deepens as time-traveling Lydia struggles to set right the past that she inadvertently altered—driving her beloved grandfather insane six years before her birth.
Lydia knows the Montauk Project is no crazy conspiracy theory; her family’s been victimized by it twice now. Worse, she doesn’t know if she will ever see her beloved Wes, a Montauk “recruit,” again. Readers won’t be remotely surprised when he appears and whisks her back to 1989—the year her grandfather in this altered timeline was committed to Bellevue and then disappeared—so they can investigate and perhaps learn how to set history right. Oh, and kiss swooningly, of course. In 1989, Lydia poses as a recruit assigned to investigate, with Wes, a New York City politician who—gasp—has some connection to her grandfather. (How this top-secret, technologically advanced, hyper-regulated operation fails to notice the black sweatpants and hoodie she wears instead of standard-issue shiny black spandex is just one of the many details this novel hand-wavingly dismisses.) The plot juggles three elements: Lydia’s quest to right her timeline; the Montauk Project’s cruelly sinister exploitation of homeless children as time travelers; and Lydia and Wes’ irritating pushmi-pullyu romance, in which either Lydia or Wes continually worries the other’s undying love has suddenly died—a ham-handed contrivance that does not noticeably amp romantic tension.
Guess what: There’s another cliffhanger. Stay tuned. Or not. (Science fiction/romance. 12 & up)Pub Date: July 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-208108-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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