by Jacqueline Woodson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1994
"Me and Dion, when we go, if I never see you again, I want you to know that I'm somewhere thinking about you, Marie.''...
Friendship lightens the burden of adolescence in a spare novel about two girls drawn together by the common thread of their loss.
Marie, popular daughter of a black professor who developed anti- white sentiments during the civil rights movement, befriends Lena, the essence of "poor white trash.'' Not only is Lena struggling with the death of her mother; she's also tormented by her father's sexual advances. "Lena's eyes seemed to hold on to that sadness as though any minute she'd start crying and no one in the world, not even God, could stop the tears. She didn't cry, though. Behind the sadness in her eyes there was something—like a thin layer of steel.'' Marie's mother, too, is gone, on a ``walkabout'' from which Marie and her father know she'll never return. Marked by their abandonment, the two struggle to negotiate treacherous early adolescence; briefly, they find a gritty comfort in each other. But when Lena's father makes a pass at Lena's younger sister Dion, Lena summons the courage to take her and disappear. Woodson's poignant prose deftly understates issues of race, abuse, and loss as it tracks the friendship's brief course.
"Me and Dion, when we go, if I never see you again, I want you to know that I'm somewhere thinking about you, Marie.'' (Fiction. 12+)Pub Date: May 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-385-32031-0
Page Count: 115
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
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by Jacqueline Woodson ; illustrated by Leo Espinosa
BOOK REVIEW
by Jacqueline Woodson ; illustrated by Rafael López
by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
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
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by Laura Nowlin
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SEEN & HEARD
by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
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
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