3/5 stars
Sourcebooks Fire, 2013
328 pages
YA Contemporary
Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
There may be *minor* spoilers in this review.
From what I recall, this book grabbed my attention with the fact that its genre is contemporary and looked to be on the sadder side with the protagonist mourning the loss of her best friend after his tragic death (this is laid out in the first few chapters so I don't want any cries of spoiler!) I tend to prefer humorous books but I also want to push myself out of my comfort zone so I decided to give this a try. My impression of this book being sad was accurate-I mean, even the title and cover work together to advertise that.
I expected the book to look briefly at the pre-accident days of this epic friendship, building to the accident, and then showing how the main character Autumn dealt with the loss of Finn who she has realized she was in love with. To my surprise though the book covers their four years of high school where their history and the fact that they are neighbors whose mothers are best friends keeps them in the same orbit but whose cliques feud and prevent anything more. Indeed Autumn and Finny (I loved that she and his mother were basically the only ones who called him that) spend most of the book dating different people before finally admitting their feelings.
Another thing I didn't expect was for the writing to be quite poetical at times. There were some beautiful passages, perfect as Autumn wants to be a writer. I liked a lot of the side characters but the main focus is definitely Autumn and Finny with the book weighing on her side as the narrator while he remained a bit of a cipher.
Unfortunately I had two big problems with this book that ultimately led to my middling rating of 3. The first is the abrupt ending. Finn dies and then there are a few pages after but far more time was spent on the buildup of their history. It felt unevenly weighted and concluded so fast. I also thought that the book dragged a bit as it rushed to cover four years (plus flashbacks to childhood). My biggest problem with this book though is the two mentions of unprotected teenage sex that lead to pregnancies. I like how there are consequences and yet I feel like it was portrayed as romantic to become a teenage mother when it's anything but.
Content: Sexual references and a lot of underage drinking-the language is pretty clean though from what I remember.
Other Opinions:
Imaginary Reads
Into the Hall of Books
I remember seeing this book a while ago and was really curious about it. Don't you hate when books end like that though! Great review :)
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
I really wasn't sure what to expect with this and I was just disappointed with the overall outcome and message. I wish there had been more dealing with Finn's death...
DeleteI have this on my kindle and am hoping to get to it when I go on vacation. I'm surprised also that so little time is spent on the aftermath of Finn's death -- I thought that was what the book was about!
ReplyDeleteExcited to see your thoughts on this one-knowing what you think tends to help me clarify my opinion!
DeleteHmmmm so this kind of book will be a love or a hate for me. ESPECIALLY with the unprotected sex; nothing burns me up faster. That said, the writing sounds really awesome, and the time spent on the build-up of the character's relationship seems really sweet. Too bad it was sort of unlevel when it came to the end!
ReplyDeleteMolli | Once Upon a Prologue
There were some really well written passages and this book was on track for a 4 review until the crazy fast wrap-up.
DeleteI'm drawn to reading more contemporary or historical fiction at the moment over paranormal but I'm not sure this would be a book I'd enjoy. I would have guessed that this book was about her dealing with loss rather than about the history of their friendship. Too bad the pacing wasn't the greatest but it sounds like the author has a lot of potential from your description of her writing style.
ReplyDeleteThe writing was good and I'd be interested in reading more of her writing especially if she remains in the contemporary genre.
DeleteI hate abrupt endings! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one.
ReplyDeleteIt was so random-I kept waiting to read about the accident and then start exploring all the feelings it brought up but instead it was crammed all together.
DeleteI know from experience that being a teenage mom isn't anything like the shows on TV. The abrupt ending worries me, I don't really like those. I'm not sure about this one. Great review. :)
ReplyDeleteThe ending was easily the most unsatisfying moment-it was not conclusive enough for my taste.
DeleteI like my books to have closure; and I like being able to tell when a story is reaching its end. Sometimes I'm reading a book and there's only 10 pages left and I just wonder "how is this going to end?" because nothing is clear/resolved and there's no more pages left!
ReplyDeleteYep, that has happened to me and I feel like that is a great description of this book except that I knew he was going to die since it had already been talked about in the beginning.
DeleteI feel like this is one I would avoid just because it doesn't sound like it has a good ending at all. I mean, I prefer HEA in general, but you can have a sad book and still have there be closure and a real reason for the book. It just sounds too depressing for me with it suddenly ending like that.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can and have read sad books but this was just too abrupt-I'm not sure it would work for you either.
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