Plenty of thrills alongside thoughtful, poignant explorations of love and loss.
This sequel to Walking in Two Worlds (2021) returns readers to the virtual and real worlds in which a teen girl navigates grief, confronts those who wish to undermine her, and grows in self-confidence.
Picking up soon after Anishinaabe teen Bugz has lost her older brother, Waawaate, to cancer, the book immediately plunges readers back into the action. Bugz is officially dating Feng, the Uighur boy who lives on the reservation with his doctor aunt, but in the depths of her grief, she spends most of her time in the virtual realm of the Floraverse with her latest creation, a Waawaate-bot. Meanwhile, the hostile players who ganged up on Bugz in the Floraverse and even destroyed the sacred Thunderbird’s Nest on the Rez have become the target of the Waawaate-bot, who grows increasingly powerful, menacing, and out of control, crossing worlds in ways that should not be possible. Seeing the terrifying impact of her well-intentioned creation forces Bugz to look honestly at how she is coping with her brother’s loss, especially when Feng receives shocking news from China. The story also follows Waawaate as his soul travels Gaagigewekinaa, or the Everlasting Road, in the afterlife. Kinew (Anishinaabe) presents readers with another well-paced novel set in a vividly realized world in which young people create new paths that are grounded in community and cultural continuity.
Plenty of thrills alongside thoughtful, poignant explorations of love and loss. (Anishinaabe terms and pronunciation guide, author’s note, resources) (Science fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780735269033
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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