A searing portrait of self-discovery; soulful and captivating.
Eighteen-year-old Daya tries to navigate life after the sudden deaths of her parents in a car accident.
Daya Wijesinghe is familiar with pain and finds comfort in it. Pain is how she copes with her feelings, and the bruises she gets from skateboarding are her way of keeping the hurt on the surface. Upon being introduced to roller derby by her friend Fee, Daya is fascinated by the sport that to her seems driven by brute strength—until she ventures in further. While roller derby gives Daya the external bruises she wants, she discovers a place of deep reckoning and healing through this sport as well. Boteju writes with acumen about the roller-coaster ride of being a teenager. Daya is both a highly frustrating and deeply engaging character, with a strong character arc. Readers get to see her many shades, both in terms of her personality (hard shell plus vulnerability) and her bruises (physical, including from self-harm, and psychological). Daya is of Sri Lankan descent and queer. Some secondary characters are gender-nonconforming and queer; Fee uses they/them pronouns, and their girlfriend is deaf and uses ASL. The backmatter includes a fascinating brief history of roller derby, focusing on the strong and inclusive community that has grown up around it.
A searing portrait of self-discovery; soulful and captivating. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5502-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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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