A pitch-perfect journey of self-discovery.
A plus-size playwright stars in his own high school drama.
Eugene Guterman, a fat Jewish high school junior living in New York City, aspires to be a famous playwright, but he just can’t seem to put pen to paper to write the drama club’s fall play as promised. Meanwhile, new student Daisy Luna has caught his eye, but he struggles to imagine a story in which the big guy gets the girl. When a misguided attempt to impress Daisy leads to his accidentally breaking the school quarterback’s wrist, Eugene joins the football team as an offensive lineman to make amends, even though he knows nothing about the game. Now, both popularity and Daisy’s affections are within reach, but as he continues to blow off both his playwriting duties and his friends, he must decide who he truly wants to be. Eugene is instantly lovable, with a nice balance of sincerity and snark, and his experiences as a fat kid ring true, from his mother’s unwanted comments about his weight to his reluctance to dance in public lest he become a meme. The secondary characters are well rounded; even quarterback Harry Habib and his cronies have depth to them, and Eugene’s best friends, Mia Kim and Ishaan Iyengar, are equally nuanced. Theater references sprinkled throughout add some fun for thespians, but readers need not be familiar with either the stage or the football field to enjoy this excellently crafted novel.
A pitch-perfect journey of self-discovery. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780823456635
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
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 treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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