by Shari Goldhagen ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2016
Still, for a book about depression, this is a pretty enjoyable one
A 17-year-old girl grapples with depression, insecurity, and unresolved trauma from her father's death in a car accident 14 years earlier.
Molly spends her summer working at FishTopia, a business that lacks customers but doesn't want for grunge. But Molly loves the job; it usually entails watching reruns of Golden Girls while sitting on the countertop, sharing takeout food with her co-worker Alex, a cute, funny guy she loves hanging with but whom she's decidedly undecided about. Meanwhile, she's crushing on her 30-something therapist, who is trying to ease her depression and her ginormous self-esteem issues and to work out her feelings about her dead father. What's more, Molly suspects her younger sister, who looks like a Victoria's Secret model, is dating Alex. And, her mother has latched onto a crazy idea—that baking her daughter a different cake each day for 100 days might cheer her up. Many readers will identify with Molly as she struggles with debilitating self-doubt and flaccid interest in making college plans amid friends who seem positively sugar-highed when discussing SATs and university prospects. The cast is largely white. Teen humor abounds, as do topics of Hot Topic–loving girls, local boy-bands, hemp handbags, and annoying younger brothers. Some readers may be troubled by plausibility issues—a cake a day? Really?—and a case of sexual abuse is disturbingly left unresolved.
Still, for a book about depression, this is a pretty enjoyable one . (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 17, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4856-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
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
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by Laura Nowlin
by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
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
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by Laura Nowlin
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