Publishers Weekly
05/16/2022
Clarkson follows a group of New Orleans teens coming together to overcome past traumas and carve new paths forward in this weighty debut. Black 17-year-old Jessamine Grace Monet plays things close to the vest. Burdened by her memories of Hurricane Katrina and facing college in the fall, she has more to worry about than love. But when white 17-year-old Tennessee Rebel Williams arrives in New Orleans with his bigoted father and emotionally absent mother, there’s an immediate connection between the two. Meanwhile, Jess’s scholarly—and closeted—twin brother Joel maneuvers advances from a classmate, while the twins’ out and proud trans cousin Solange navigates her disappointed mother’s declining health. As the teens’ lives converge, they must learn to open up to one another and confront their respective pasts to make way for their futures. Though a shifting tone can undercut heavy moments, and a character’s undisclosed mental illness leans on stereotype, Clarkson eschews tidy relationships and characterizations in an emotionally extravagant, slowly paced depiction of complex familial circumstances and young love’s trials. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rachel Brooks, BookEnds Literary. (June)
From the Publisher
"A New Orleans love story for these ages." — Kirkus Reviews
"Clarkson eschews tidy relationships and characterizations in an emotionally extravagant, slowly paced depiction of complex familial circumstances and young love's trials." — Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
12/23/2022
Gr 9 Up—Black twins Jessamine and Joel take different approaches to staying on track senior year of high school: Joel is quiet, artistic, and a little too obedient, while Jess runs hot and cold, lags behind in her assignments, but is gifted and eager to fly. Jess and Joel survived Hurricane Katrina when they were five years old, but the trauma and loss still linger. It's just them and their mom now. Jess suffers from nightmares, Joel can't speak his mind, and they both run from commitment. But family bonds still hold: an adult trans cousin, the loud, independent Solange, who's not without her own struggles, supplies the necessary encouragement to the twins that their mother sometimes can't muster. Jess and Tennessee, a new white kid in town, take turns narrating this story of teenage romance and identity. She finds herself inexplicably attracted to him; his shyness and ability to focus unnerve her. Their playground is New Orleans, rich with its own culture, celebrations, and history. Tenn learns that firsthand from Saint, a gay, Black private school classmate and fashionista who can't wait to show off at the next Mardi Gras. Saint is as free as Joel is buttoned up; if they hook up, this potpourri of teenage drama and transformation will be complete. VERDICT New Orleans shines in this story of twins who survived Hurricane Katrina and their potpourri of BIPOC friends and relations.—Georgia Christgau
Kirkus Reviews
2022-04-13
A New Orleans love story for these ages.
When 17-year-old Tennessee Rebel Williams moved to New Orleans from Oxford, Mississippi, he thought he was leaving behind the explosive fights between his often absent mom and his bigot of a father and that he might even be able to reinvent himself. His parents’ separation doesn’t stick, and his mom fails to put in any effort to care for him, but Tennessee quickly falls for Jessamine Grace Monet, a high school senior and NOLA native with her guard up and a lot to work through. Jess and her twin brother, Joel, were 5 when they lost their father and home in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which was followed by a series of violently traumatic events. Getting close to either sibling is understandably difficult. Tenn and Saint Olivier Baptiste, his new bestie at Magnolia Prep, stubbornly give it a shot anyway despite predictable star-crossed obstacles. Saint is flamboyant and confident, while Joel is closeted and cautious; Jess, who is Black, is reluctant to even fall in like with anyone but especially with a small-town White boy like Tenn. Socio-economic differences likewise separate them from the twins, who are far from wealthy. In this slightly overlong dual first-person narrative where the queer characters sometimes fade into the background, Tenn’s and Jess’ respective journeys are refreshingly heartfelt.
No big surprises but the familiar still elicits investment in these fun and caring characters. (Fiction. 13-18)
