It’s all harmless summer fun, but it has the feeling of the retread that it is; perhaps next year Libby should get a...
History-nerd extraordinaire Libby Kelting returns for another summer of costumed drama.
Having spent the previous summer in colonial garb (Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink, 2012), Libby doesn’t find it too hard to agree to spend the months before college on campaign with Civil War re-enactors, in partnership with her gay, designer BFF, Dev. They will be sutlers to the Confederate armies (who have a way better sense of style than the Yankees). Libby will model the gowns; Dev will take orders and sew them up when they get home; they will make buckets of dough. The only problem? Libby will have to spend the summer far from her boyfriend, aspiring journalist Garrett. Once in the South, Libby and Dev meet their sponsors, a canny businesswoman and her adorable, history-loving son, Beau, an officer with the regiment they’re attached to—and whose family is bedeviled by a ghost. Hijinks and romantic anxiety ensue. The merriment is compounded by a troop of overeager Boy Scouts, an evil land developer and the arrival of Garrett, who uses the excuse of the ghost to extend his internship with the Boston Globe to the battlefields of the Deep South. The ghost plot feels tired and Scooby-Doo–ish—in fact, Scooby is explicitly invoked, joining a host of other pop-culture references that range from Glee to Twilight.
It’s all harmless summer fun, but it has the feeling of the retread that it is; perhaps next year Libby should get a different sort of summer job. (Fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97258-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphia
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
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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