There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.Īfter surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.

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. Except for Korbie, effectively drawn as a self-centered, spoiled brat, the characterizations are fairly shallow. Although some of Britt’s reasoning comes across as rather tortured, the story still works as a good thriller. It’s clear that someone is a murderer, perhaps even a serial killer, but which one? Fitzpatrick keeps the focus more on suspense than on the underlying romance, pitching the book to two complementary audiences. Events spiral out of control when Calvin shows up. While in the cabin, however, Britt discovered a long-dead body that she believes is a missing girl. Britt talks them into leaving Korbie behind while she accompanies them as their guide in a hike toward the highway, where Mason and Shaun plan to steal a car and escape. Soon, however, the girls learn that the young men are on the run from the police and intend either to kill them or take them hostage. They trudge through the snow and find a cabin occupied by Mason and Shaun, who reluctantly take them in.

She and Calvin’s sister, her best friend, Korbie, set out for the Versteegs’ palatial cabin but break down in the middle of an unexpected blizzard.

This wannabe romance remains a thriller at heart.īritt wants to go hiking in the Tetons as she tries to recover from the end of her romance with Calvin Versteeg.

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick