A powerfully moving YA novel that will hopefully enlighten as much as it entertains.
A 16-year-old artist leaves her small-town Oklahoma home and enters a new school—and a new life—in this second installment in Vincent’s YA series.
Identifying as gender nonconforming, Nic Summers gets misgendered frequently and has had to deal with schoolmates and even family members who are far from understanding. But when she leaves her home to attend a private academy in suburban Oklahoma City, her expectations are high. Not only does she hope to finally find her true self—and fully understand her as-of-yet uncertain gender identity and sexuality—she yearns to find people with whom she can identify and connect. Nic quickly finds happiness at the school—she meets a teacher who takes her passion for art to the next level and a small group of friends who share the same interests. She even meets a mysterious boy, Mack, upon whom she immediately starts crushing. But the same prejudice, hatred, and ignorance that plagued her back home find her and her friends at her new school, and Nic is forced to deal with people who are willing to go out of their way to torment her, destroy her relationships, and derail her burgeoning career in art. An impressively honest and intimate first person POV powers this story of a young person struggling with gender and trying to find their place in a world that is seemingly determined to “erase” them. Anti-trans legislation, book bans, and the blind hatred passed down by some parents (“red state training”) to their children are all referenced in this novel, which doesn’t pull any punches about the dangers growing up different, especially in small town America. “‘They really are coming after us, and it’s not just me. It’s all of you.’”
A powerfully moving YA novel that will hopefully enlighten as much as it entertains.Pub Date: July 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1958342114
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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