Recommended for teens no matter what they believe. (Fiction. 14-18)
When CeCe gets dumped by her boyfriend, Ethan, soon after she loses her virginity to him, purportedly because of his religious-based guilt, she follows him to a Christian summer camp to win him back.
Her best friend, Paul, who attended the camp in his Christian days (before his pastor father left his mom for the church secretary), goes along to support her. When Ethan turns out to be dating one of the other campers, CeCe pretends Paul is actually her boyfriend, though she still wants Ethan back. Told from CeCe’s first-person, non-Christian point of view, the story starts out frothy, with condom water balloons and plot manipulations to get CeCe and her new white (everyone seems to be white, a missed opportunity) counselor-in-training friends to the point where they’re discussing sex more than Jesus. CeCe’s infatuation with Ethan doesn’t make sense at first, and the Christian camp setting doesn’t fully ring true, until suddenly Paul asks CeCe, “Did you say no before you said yes?” Ethan tells the entire camp that CeCe deceived and seduced him, and from there the novel blossoms—yes, blossoms—into a thoughtful story of consent, sexual education, friendship, and honest communication. For all the talk about Christ, there isn’t much religion here, but there’s a lot of truth and some genuine goodness, as CeCe and her friends learn that their virginity, or lack thereof, doesn’t define them.
Recommended for teens no matter what they believe. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62414-797-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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 troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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