A slow, dispiriting case study of abuse.
Phoenix Cotton, a 16-year-old white girl, moves by herself through her unnamed high school life in an unnamed town, crushing on the white swimming hero Marlon Baldini.
She lives with her pharmaceutical sales rep mother, Erika, and her beloved 8-year-old, science-loving (and horror-film aficionado) sister, Sasha, in an old lakeside cabin while coping with their father's abandonment. Into this vulnerable family comes her English teacher, Mr. Jessup Smith, described as "young," "too charming," and a "reincarnation of a 1950s movie star," who starts off by offering the Cotton sisters a ride home but will immediately set off readers’ alarms when, in his agitation at Sasha’s putting her muddy boots on his clean car seats, he turns around and yanks them off. As he insinuates himself into Sasha's and Erika's hearts, his abusiveness surfaces—mostly toward Phoenix. But Smith and Baldini are not the only men moving in and out of the Cotton sisters' lives: Marlon's stepfather also charms Phoenix and Sasha while also serving as a connection to their father. But that's the book's problem: for a work whose original French title translates into All the Heroes Are Called Phoenix, the only heroes—the people who rise to act, both positively and negatively—are the men; Sasha's nerdy-girl irrepressibility is limited because she's 8. And the one who gets the worst of this treatment, in so many ways, is Phoenix herself.
A slow, dispiriting case study of abuse. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-55451-842-5
Page Count: 204
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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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