“Cinderella” meets Pride and Prejudice, and the result is a delight.
A young woman in Regency London finds her place in society through a chance encounter.
It’s 1821, and Primrose Ainsworth has just turned 16, but her prospects of improving her boring life are dim. As the youngest of four sisters in a modestly comfortable family, pale, freckled, redhead Prim is in turn reviled and ignored by her siblings and her ambitious mother, whose one desire is to marry off her daughters to rich suitors. Prim is abandoned at home on her birthday when her mother and sisters venture to Bond Street for an expensive shopping trip. One benefit of this situation is that Prim is left to her own devices—so when she chooses to join light-brown–skinned, black-haired Olympia Zaher, her sophisticated, glamorous friend, on a nocturnal adventure to that den of iniquity Vauxhall Gardens, no one is watching. Prim’s mother disapproves of the Zahers, mother and daughter, whom she regards with suspicion as foreigners from Andalusia. Armed with masks for disguise and adventurous attitudes, the two girls head for the forbidden playground. Exciting chases and near misses abound as Prim is dramatically rescued from several scrapes by a mysterious and exceedingly handsome stranger. Prim’s feminist spirit and determination to rise above her station will resonate with modern readers who feel trapped in difficult family situations.
“Cinderella” meets Pride and Prejudice, and the result is a delight. (Historical romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-20621-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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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