A smart, engaging, and suspenseful mystery.
Two friends investigate a 1999 disappearance that happened in their fictional small town of Oreville, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula.
Cameron Muñoz and Blair Johnson are, on the surface, unlikely best friends—Cam is tenacious and headstrong, with little concern for or even understanding of social norms, while Blair, a talented writer, doubts her abilities at every turn despite being a good reader of people. They undertake their dive into the decades-old case of Clarissa Campbell, a popular White 17-year-old who went missing following her high school graduation, as a project for their journalism class. Cam decides they should make a podcast about their research without really knowing how they’re made, which becomes a running joke. What follows is a familiarly framed whodunit, carefully plotted to parse information out to readers at intervals, that stands out due to its thoughtful characterization. A wealth of issues is touched on throughout the story, including welcome recognition that domestic violence is far more prevalent than violence perpetrated by strangers, the case for prison abolition, and the disproportionate attention and resources directed toward crimes against attractive young White women. The novel is narrated in the third person, and podcast transcripts are interspersed. Gay Cam is Mexican American and White; Blair reads White; and there is diversity represented in secondary characters.
A smart, engaging, and suspenseful mystery. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781250801968
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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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