A lighthearted and engaging romp for anyone who loves Spidey and Mary Jane's upside-down kiss in the rain.
For Graham Posner, a geeky, bespectacled white teenager from Long Island, the love he feels for Roxana Afsari, the Persian girl next door, is as epic as Peter Parker’s for Gwen Stacey—without the whole dying bit.
A self-respecting comic-book devotee cannot simply blurt out his amorous feelings; the moment has to be hero-worthy, and Graham knows that New York Comic-Con during a Q-and-A with their favorite comic creator is the perfect opportunity. How to make that epic moment happen is the subject of Tash’s witty third novel (The Mapmaker and the Ghost, 2012, etc.), and what follows is an unabashed love letter and delightful inside joke for comic enthusiasts who were fans long before Hollywood made geek culture chic. The author perfectly captures the earnestness and grandiose sentiment of a love-struck teenager whose life is fueled by and intertwined with geek culture, and the narrative’s diverse cast is a testament to comic books’ universal appeal. Teen issues such as violating curfew on a school night or missing out on coveted tickets to an event receive the same gravitas with which the X-Men save the world and race home in time for dinner. Best of all, the novel captures the joyous spirit of Comic-Con and fantasy’s ability to provide its devotees with a community through which to contextualize their joys and sorrows.
A lighthearted and engaging romp for anyone who loves Spidey and Mary Jane's upside-down kiss in the rain. (Fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5653-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
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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