The Scandinavian atmosphere and engaging narrative voices uplift and deepen this magical boarding school story.
This trilogy opener, translated from the original Danish, brings together a restless spirit and four new friends investigating an unsolved murder.
Four protagonists narrate this well-written and well-conceived story. Wealthy, stylish, but haunted Victoria; prickly, direct Malou; insecure, unworldly Kirstine; and cozy, maternal Chamomile have been accepted as first-year students at Rosenholm Academy on Zealand. Not your average boarding school, Rosenholm teaches four branches of magic: Earth, Growth, Blood, and Death, and each student becomes a mage in one of them. Not unexpectedly (but helpfully for character development) Kirstine, Malou, Victoria, and Chamomile each have different mage abilities. In its narrative style as well as its emphasis on Norse mythology and magic, this one mostly walks its own path within a setting that holds evergreen appeal as a genre staple. As the story unfolds, Trine, the spirit who is haunting Victoria, reveals to the four girls during a séance that she was murdered at Rosenholm. Trine offers a mysterious warning and asks the friends to discover who killed her. The choice to alternate among the third-person perspectives of the different narrators works well, giving the novel a lively narrative lilt. Text messages, some cryptic, some not, liven up both the design and the intrigue factor. The ending sets up the next book in the series. Main characters read white.
The Scandinavian atmosphere and engaging narrative voices uplift and deepen this magical boarding school story. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781646900121
Page Count: 345
Publisher: Arctis Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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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