Intense and sometimes scary, but chock-full of heart and heady affirmation.
Multiple trials make a neurodivergent Minnesota teenager’s last days of high school decidedly tumultuous.
Like Aretha, the octopus she tends devotedly as a volunteer at the nearby zoo, Evvie Chambers has an intense personality as well as the ability to camouflage herself when needed. Both qualities come into play when a possibly romantic connection develops with a fellow volunteer and the band storage room known as the Lair (a safe retreat for students who need it) is exposed. Due entirely to mutual personal animus, a teacher also threatens to deny her the grade she needs to graduate. (Though that same bad apple stands by silently while a vicious teen bully targets classmates, other staff members do show up to do the right thing.) Neurotypical characters generally stay in the background; most of those in Evvie’s circle, including her own divorced mom, have diagnosed differences that are clearly and sensitively observed in Evvie’s first-person narrative but never named. This approach allows readers to go beyond labels to see the unique mix of abilities and vulnerabilities in each person. Ultimately Evvie does successfully, even joyously, weather both emotional and academic challenges. On the way to a buoyant ending, the author splices in rich veins of encouragement as well as useful coping strategies, and at the very end, Aretha slithers onstage to deliver a heartening, informative, informational pep talk. Most of the cast registers as white.
Intense and sometimes scary, but chock-full of heart and heady affirmation. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 18, 2024
ISBN: 9780316567954
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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