A riveting ride through the stars.
Teenagers wake up in space, with no memory of how they got there, on a ship that’s out of their control and with no coordinates for charting a course home.
Impossibly far away from Seattle, 16-year-old Noa North wakes up floating outside the spaceship Qriosity. According to the voice inside his helmet, that of a Florida boy called DJ Storm, the ship will explode in 17 minutes unless they repair the leaking coolant conduit and shut off the reactor. Although neither can remember how they ended up in space, they have little choice but to try to survive. Joined by Jenny, a girl from Rhode Island, the three teens navigate threats of explosion, a Quantum Fold Drive that flings them across the galaxy every 19 hours, a time loop, and a monster invasion, all while searching for answers about how they arrived in space in the first place. The plot maintains a fast pace: Every time the team finds a moment of comfort, a new danger throws them back into action. Thrilling twists keep the conflict surprising, and, as the title suggests, a romance simmers between Noa and DJ. Through their love story, Hutchinson explores topics of consent, trauma survival, and the significance of #ownvoices storytelling. While this book stands alone, the openness of the resolution leaves room for further adventures. All main characters seem to be White.
A riveting ride through the stars. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4853-7
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
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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