Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than 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 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. The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. Other characters, too, are well drawn, such as Mina’s overreacting but endearing mother: “All I wishing is for you to be safe and not to killing my nerves anymore.” Structurally, the book is slow to develop and then ends on a cliffhanger-an unsatisfying combination.Ī well-written and emotionally involving teen tale with fine characterization but an unresolved ending. They’re authentically slang-y and teenage-lusty they struggle with believable, significant internal and external conflicts and they’re thoughtful about fate, the future, and each other. In her novel, Ares displays a gift for capturing the complex inner lives of teenagers through Mina’s and Oliver’s alternating first-person chapters. Just as they reach an understanding, violence erupts in Mina’s life, the story to continue in a second installment.
When Mina and Oliver meet, they share a strong attraction, but their personal issues create a push-pull dynamic that complicates coming to each other’s emotional rescue.
Now, he’s moving to Los Angeles, finishing high school, and developing his lucrative business buying and selling smartphones. As a foster child and survivor of sexual abuse, he has excellent reasons for putting his miserable past behind him.
Oliver Mondell, 17, has chosen this new name as part of his new life. Mina plans on earning stellar grades, going to a top-flight university, and becoming a lawyer, although her real love is dancing. Saving money is important ever since her mother lost one of her jobs and her father took off. Mina Nikolaevna Arkova, the 17-year-old daughter of Soviet immigrants, has never quite fit in other kids “never seemed to recognize me as one of their own species.” For her senior year of high school, she’s transferring from a tony private school to a grittier, less expensive one in Hollywood. In this debut YA novel, two misfit teenagers navigate a romantic relationship and face down painful legacies.
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