Only for insatiable fans of the genre or author.
A historical adventure sports a steampunk veneer, like an undersea Murder on the Orient Express.
In an alternate 1908, Rosalind Wallace is summarily yanked from a visit with her aristocratic London friends when her American industrialist father demands her presence on the inaugural voyage of his Transatlantic Express. To her delight, both the flighty Lady Cecily and her charming brother, Charles, arrange to travel along. But first Charles mysteriously disappears, then Cecily is gruesomely murdered—and Rosalind realizes that she is trapped beneath the ocean in a deadly political game, with no one she can trust. Falksen (The Ourobouros Cycle) is a steampunk celebrity, but his first teen novel offers neither astonishing mechanisms nor inventive worldbuilding; aside from the vaguely described suboceanic railway, little distinguishes this from a generic “wallpaper historical.” Rosalind displays an oversupply of exceptionalism: a suffragist, pacifist, anti-imperialist who drives motorcars, loves reading, excels at math, and despises class privilege—although she more proclaims than acts upon her ideals. The narrative mostly tells rather than shows, and the characterizations rely heavily upon national and occupational clichés (mostly white and pretty with the possible exception of servants). Still, the plot is a frenetic thrill ride of plots and counterplots, daring escapes, grand gestures, and a conclusion hinting broadly at upcoming sequels. The large illustrations (not seen in final form), while cartoonish, are attractive; the delicate mechanical diagrams decorating chapter headings seem unrelated to the text.
Only for insatiable fans of the genre or author. (Steampunk. 12-18)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61695-417-8
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Soho Teen
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
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
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
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