A thoughtful and meandering travel narrative, this will find an audience among readers willing to take the time to get to...
A tale of self-discovery slowly unfolds in this novel about a talented artist who falls for her travel companion as she backpacks in Central America.
Eighteen-year-old Bria defiantly embarks on a post–high-school graduation trip, quickly abandoning the tour group full of squares she’s with and uneasily throwing her lot in with globetrotter Starling and her surly, yet intriguing brother, Rowan. Bria and Rowan eventually wind up on their own, both guarding their secrets mightily from the other. Bria is distinctive—embarrassed that she let her dreams of art school be sabotaged by a former boyfriend and self-conscious about appearing to be a naïve traveler, but also often tough and assertive. While these seemingly incongruous qualities make for interesting reading, her internal voice sometimes seems to clash with her dry, almost tartly down-to-earth outward persona, as when she thinks, “Tonight, I am the bohemian beach fairy of my fantasies.” Rowan, who is attempting to leave behind a sordid past that includes drug use and smuggling, is similarly complex. If the pacing drags at times, there are also some thrillingly romantic, smart and funny moments. Pencil drawings by the author embellish appealingly.
A thoughtful and meandering travel narrative, this will find an audience among readers willing to take the time to get to know characters whose motives they might not always understand. (Fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-385-73937-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
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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