Autumn's best friend dies in an accident; Shay's twin sister dies of leukemia; Logan's ex-boyfriend dies of an overdose. In alternating chapters, these Long Island teens battle grief alone until their unknown connections--through a vividly imagined local music scene--eventually bring them together. Three intense losses make this emotional novel overly arduous, but it may still appeal to fans of grief-driven tearjerkers. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 9 Up-Logan, Shay, and Autumn are each hurting in their own way. Logan is obsessively watching his ex-boyfriend's old YouTube videos in the wake of Bram's suicide. Shay is trying to be the good daughter and act like everything is fine despite suffering frequent panic attacks following the death of her twin from cancer. Autumn is stuck in a cycle of blame and confusing romantic emotions, compelled to send emails to her best friend who was killed in a car accident. The music of a now-defunct band, Unravelling Lovely, will help them begin to heal and honor their lost loved ones. Three gifted narrators portray Woodfolk's well-drawn characters with affecting complexity. Jackie Chung's soft voice reveals Autumn's shyness and blossoming yet complicated crush on her deceased friend's brother. Alisha Wainwright's performance embodies Shay's denial of the pain and loss of control she experiences. Michael Crouch couples Logan's self-destructive attitude with an intense longing to change the past. Certain moments lag when the writing feels repetitive, but the vocal through line is strong as each narrator commits to the character's heartbreaking journey. VERDICT A sorrowful exploration of grieving teens complemented with narration that depicts their depth of feeling and paths towards finding peace.--Elizabeth Nolan, San José Public Library, CA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Isolated by three untimely deaths, a diverse assortment of teen millennials seeks healing in friendship and music.Shy Autumn, a Korean-American adoptee, was stunned when her best friend, Tavia, a lively Latinx extrovert, died in a one-car accident returning from a party. Autumn's guilt over having skipped the party to hang out with Tavia's brother, Dante, threatens to derail their dawning romance. Bram died months after he'd left Logan for Latinx Yara, a girl. In pain, blocked emotionally and creatively, Logan, a white, singer/songwriter, self-medicates with alcohol. Black identical twins Shay and Sasha were close until leukemia took Sasha's life. Shay was a strong student and runner; now panic attacks prevent her from focusing on school or the music fan site the two started, on which they'd promoted a once-promising, now-defunct band called Unraveling Lovelymade up of Logan, Dante, and Sasha's boyfriend, Rohan. Their intersecting stories chart how the void left by death reshapes relationships among survivors: friends, parents, children. Sasha's long illness defined her three-person family; now Shay and her mother must remake their connection. For Logan, Yara proves an unexpected ally. While Shay and Logan have strong, distinctive voices, Autumn's agonywith her shorter emotional journey and narrative arcis less convincing. (That her adopted status might affect her reaction to loss is suggested but unexplored.) All cherish images and voices of those lost, preserved in digital media, but the sensitively wrought narrative braid argues that only the living can comfort and heal.An ambitious debut from a writer to watch. (Fiction. 14-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Autumn, Shay, and Logan have something in common: the loss of a loved one. Autumn's best friend, Tavia, has died in a car wreck; Shay's twin sister, Sasha, has died of leukemia; and Logan's erstwhile boyfriend, Bram, has died of an apparent suicide. The three teens are further linked by their love of music, though each reacts to the various deaths in individual, at first unhealthy, ways. Autumn obsesses, Shay has panic attacks, and Logan drinks heavily. Despite these differences, all three have one common coping mechanism: they cry. Boy, do they cry. Gallons of tears are shed in this novel, too many, really, since their quantity tends to mitigate their impact. That quibble aside, Woodfolk has done an exemplary job of character creating and building. Her three co-protagonists are fully realized, empathetic individuals for whom readers will care. They grow and change believably as they begin to find ways to deal with their grief, and the resolutions of their emotional crises are lucid and deeply satisfying, as, ultimately, is this fine first novel.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2017 Booklist

In a strong debut, set on a realistically diverse Long Island, Woodfolk surveys the devastation of those left behind after the deaths of three teenagers, and their tentative efforts to move forward. Each of the book's narrators is struggling with grief. When the book opens, Autumn's best friend, Tavia, has just been killed in a car crash; Shay's twin sister, Sasha, has succumbed to the leukemia she's had since she was 11; and Logan's ex-boyfriend, Bram, has committed suicide. Autumn's loss is the most recent; Logan's happened months ago, and he thinks he should be over it. The three are also linked by their connections, some closer than others, to Unraveling Lovely, a local indie band that might have made it big if Logan hadn't messed things up. Although there are many characters to keep track of, and it's not always clear who knows whom and how well, Woodfolk eloquently depicts how 16-year-olds live in the digital and physical worlds, how the latter can amplify the former, how relationships shift after someone dies, and how life goes on, if you let it. Ages 14-up. Agent: Beth Phelan, Bent Agency. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.