Expressive, emotional, and quietly optimistic.
Poetry, first love, and family trauma all play roles in a queer Iranian American teen’s coming of age.
Mitra Esfahani, a “Muslim-Zoroastrian raised-in-Catholic-school weirdo,” has worn a protective shell since she was young, ever since her mother’s addiction to painkillers reached a tipping point and changed her family forever. Her lifeline has always been poetry: It both connects her to her heritage through her love for ancient Persian poets and also forms a bond with her best friend and secret crush, Bea Ortega, who’s Mexican American. Together, with the help of The Book (the ongoing, shared work of confessional poetry that they began writing the year they met), the two seniors have withstood the trials of being queer people of color at their stuffy private Catholic school in upscale Medina, Washington. When Bea expresses her attraction, Mitra is euphoric about finally being able to show her true feelings—but she’s also convinced she’s going to screw everything up. Things become more complicated as ghosts of Mitra’s traumatic childhood resurface, forcing her to confront the way her history has been holding her back without her realizing it. The author, a therapist, offers a heartbreaking but hopeful portrayal of parental addiction and its impact on families, written in lyrical first-person prose alternating with excerpts of poetry. Chat logs, passed notes, and other ephemera are included, which lend authenticity to Mitra and her world.
Expressive, emotional, and quietly optimistic. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780593530498
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 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
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
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