An engrossing, sprawling whodunit.
A Los Angeles teen whose sister has just been found not guilty of murder becomes embroiled in another mystery in this follow-up to Live Your Best Lie (2023).
Amanda’s life has been a mess with all that’s happened with her sister, not least because Amanda started posting anonymously on TikTok about it—and now that Cora’s been exonerated, Amanda worries she’ll find out she’s behind the account. Amanda has struggled in Los Angeles, missing longtime friends Mallory, Cole, and Vince, who are in Colorado. Trying to escape the glare of media attention, Amanda flees to the Colorado mountains to stay with her aunt, who works at Mallory’s family’s hotel. But her friends have also had a rough few years. Vince’s mother is in jail, charged with the murder of Lillia Das’ grandfather. (Lillia’s a peer on the fringe of their group, and someone with whom Amanda shares a secret bond.) Readers will easily sympathize with Amanda’s earnest third-person voice. Many more secrets twist their way through this story involving several families in an insular tourist town, a true-crime documentary producer wanting to feature the Das case, and a ghost story connected to the hotel. Weaver packs a lot into this page-turner, interspersing flashbacks and online speculations about the various cases and leaving readers guessing throughout. Amanda, Mallory, and Cole are cued white; Vince is Latino, and Lillia is from Kolkata.
An engrossing, sprawling whodunit. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781368078412
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Melissa de la Cruz Studio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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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