It may be occasionally implausible, but the great pacing makes this a suspenseful romantic thriller.
Arcadia joins a weekend road trip with two handsome cousins she’s just met. But one or both may be hiding a troubling secret.
Following her mother’s death, Arcadia has become the surrogate parent to her younger brother, and she’s ready for a well-deserved break. On the way to a party in a campground she spies hot stranger Matt in the parking lot, and she spontaneously invites him along. Soon Matt’s kissing her friend Lindsey, a situation Arcadia accepts when she finds herself swept into an intense sexual attraction with Matt’s cousin Noah. His handsome but scarred face suggests a troubled youth, and he admits to past violent incidents. However, Noah also thoughtfully listens to Arcadia in a way that no one has in a long time, making his invitation that she and Lindsey join the cousins’ road trip irresistible. Even when Lindsey backs out via text message, Arcadia still grabs a backpack and heads out for adventure but forgets her phone charger (cue the horror-movie music). Arcadia is quickly surrounded by obvious warning signs that the cousin(s) cannot be trusted—from a psychic’s warning to the discovery of Lindsey’s body back at home—and yet she heads further into the wilderness with them. A deadly confrontation feels inevitable.
It may be occasionally implausible, but the great pacing makes this a suspenseful romantic thriller. (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61963-416-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
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
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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