An earnest though predicable novel that involves a hot car and a hot mess.
A Southern-accented novel about a youthful love triangle and its lasting consequences.
After a near-fatal car crash in its first chapter, Madding’s novel flashes back to the week leading up to a high school graduation in the small town of Haggard, Georgia. Seniors Ricky Mann, Jimmy Lowe, and Buck Blue have been friends since grade school. Their lives are a small-town idyll with something of the flavor of American Graffiti, involving hanging out every night, drinking beer, talking girls and cars—Buck is joined at the hip to his 1970 Chevelle, the hottest car around—and imagining their futures. The high point after the graduation ceremony includes extended drunken revelry in Panama City Beach on the Gulf Coast. But there is a fly in the ointment: Both Buck and Jimmy are sweet on their classmate Jenny Smith, who eventually chooses Jimmy as her steady boyfriend. The combination of a broken heart, booze, and a hot car pushes Buck over the edge, and, unfortunately, he takes Jimmy with him. Madding tells this story from the point of view of Ricky, the solid and thoughtful member of the group, who’s concerned about the love triangle from the start. Even so, some of the author’s Southern tropes, such as putting peanuts in Coca-Cola, are facile or overfamiliar, and his wording can be stilted. It’s hard to envision a farm boy like Ricky saying “It’s readily obvious…” or any teenager of the day observing that another is stuffing chaw in “the cheek of his mouth.” And the ending is unsurprising—everything points from the start to a climax involving immaturity, booze, and a powerful car. But the boys are engaging, especially Ricky and Jimmy, and Madding evokes real sympathy for Jimmy when he has to suffer for Buck’s hormonal craziness. The novel also has a clear theme, foreshadowed in the opening pages: Every action has consequences that may not surface for a long time. As they move through life, Ricky and Jimmy and Buck all learn that important lesson.
An earnest though predicable novel that involves a hot car and a hot mess.Pub Date: April 11, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Charm House Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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
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