Autumn Falls

Autumn Falls

4.7 18
by Bella Thorne
     
 

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New friends, new enemies . . . can a magical journal change Autumn's crazy life?
 
With her fiery red hair, new-girl outsider status, and tendency to be a total klutz, Autumn Falls definitely isn’t flying below the radar at Aventura High. Luckily, she makes some genuine friends who take her under their wing. But she also manages to get on

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Overview

New friends, new enemies . . . can a magical journal change Autumn's crazy life?
 
With her fiery red hair, new-girl outsider status, and tendency to be a total klutz, Autumn Falls definitely isn’t flying below the radar at Aventura High. Luckily, she makes some genuine friends who take her under their wing. But she also manages to get on the wrong side of the school’s queen bee, and then finds out the guy she’s started to like, funny and sweet Sean, hangs with the mean crowd. Now her rep and her potential love life are at stake.
 
When Autumn vents her feelings in a journal that belonged to her late father, suddenly her wildest wishes start coming true. Is it coincidence? Or can writing in the journal solve all her problems? And if the journal doesn’t work that way,  is there a bigger purpose for it—and for her?

Filled with personal elements from Bella’s own life, AUTUMN FALLS is the first book in Bella Thorne’s new series! It has everything readers will love and relate to: a real girl trying to find her own inner strength and be the best she can be, with a hint of magic and mystery, and a steady stream of OMG-I-can’t-believe-that-just-happened fun.

 
"You'll be obsessed with Autumn Falls. It has basically everything you could ever want: a lovable klutz for a main character, a total heartthrob, and just a touch of magic." —Seventeen.com 

“A brilliant debut from Bella Thorne!” —Girls’ Life

 “We personally loved the book. . . . The main character is a fiery, redheaded girl who captures your heart.” —Latina.com

“Entertaining.” —Booklist

“Captivating . . . highly recommended.” —VOYA

“A fun premise.” —Publishers Weekly

“Thorne is a shining example of what can be accomplished with the right attitude and drive.” —Girls Write Now

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
10/20/2014
In actress Thorne's YA debut, sophomore Autumn Falls, stuck with a name "that calls me out as a complete klutz and seasonally challenged," moves with her family to Florida after her father's accidental death. There, Autumn's Cuban grandmother gives her a magical journal and tells her it "could change your life." And the journal does seem to make Autumn's wishes come true, leading to the temptation to seek revenge when she is bullied by pretty, popular Reenzie ("Pro tip... you want to take care of out here. Heat can make breakouts even worse"). Thorne's book has a fun premise and some silly moments (such as when one of Autumn's written wishes has Reenzie slip and fall in a pile of dog poop during track practice), and a few of the characters have inauthentic affectations, such as Autumn's grandmother's belief that there are sleeping pills in the ice cream at her assisted living home. But as Autumn begins to realize the problems with payback, her insights help compensate for an over-the-top and oversweet final scene. Ages 12–up. Agent: Matthew Elblonk, DeFiore and Company. (Nov.)
Children's Literature - Krisan Murphy
Could moving to a new state, a new home, and a new high school get any worse for Autumn Falls? Just weeks before leaving her best friend for a new life in Florida where Grandmother Falls resides, Autumn’s father suddenly dies in a car wreck. Trying to be inconspicuous as a new-girl at Aventura High is impossible for Autumn, the flaming redhead. She stumbles into a huddle of kind friends, but she also manages to stir up a beehive of trouble when she angers the school’s meanest girl. An interesting twist in the plot causes this typical teen drama to rise above the norm when Autumn’s senile grandmother gives her granddaughter a journal. The blank pages were a gift to Autumn from her dad. Before his death, he requested Grandmother give it to Autumn to record her thoughts. Curiously, all her wishes (both for good and evil) recorded in the journal come true. By the end of the story, Autumn realizes the purpose of the journal in teaching her who she really is. This entertaining and intriguing teenage novel is worth the read for fans of Disney channel star Bella Thorne. Reviewer: Krisan Murphy; Ages 13 up.
VOYA, February 2015 (Vol. 37, No. 6) - Rachel Axelrod
Autumn Falls, named by her beloved father for his favorite season, is moving to Florida. Her father has died in a car accident after moving his mother into an assisted living facility. Her family is now moving—without him—to be near her grandmother, uprooting Autumn and her brother from all their friends because her mother believes it is what her father would have wanted. Autumn befriends some quirky teens, J. J., Amalita, and Jack. Each has a “thing” that they love: anagrams, makeup and fashion, and comics. Even her brother has digital photography. Handsome quarterback Sean is her real love interest, but he is best friends with Reenzie, who is a jealous mean girl. When her grandmother says she has something special for Autumn from her father, telling her it will change her life, she is puzzled. It is a blank journal. But as she begins to write her thoughts and wishes, somehow they begin to come to fruition—a wish for pizza to replace the cafeteria tamales, a wish for Sean to invite her to the formal, and much more. She begins to believe that her father has given her something truly magical and special, perhaps to help her through her grief, or maybe to guide her into her new life in Florida and to find her own “thing” at last. This captivating first novel will have huge appeal for middle grade and high school readers and will have them begging for more. It is highly recommended for school and public libraries. Reviewer: Rachel Axelrod; Ages 11 to 15.
School Library Journal
11/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—At the start of this realistic novel by the Disney Channel actress, Autumn Falls's father dies in a car accident. Already planning to move to Aventura, Florida to take care of Eddy, their grandmother, the grieving family settles in the quiet town. Switching to a new school gets even harder for Autumn, when on her first day at Aventura High, her brother runs his skycam into her, which leaves a giant bump on her forehead. Someone takes a photo and posts it on the student portal. Not long after that, her lock is switched on her locker and she can't open it. The pranks continue to make her adjustment period difficult. Autumn begins to write in a journal that Eddy gave her, and magical things occur. Every time the protagonist writes "I wish" in her journal, she receives her wish, just not always how she expects it. A feel-good book with believable and well-developed characters and an evenly paced plot. Teens will appreciate how Autumn learns to be true to herself in this interesting twist on wish-fulfillment. Its discussion of bullying, death, friendship, and family makes it a timely and resonant read.—Jesten Ray, Seattle Public Library, WA
Kirkus Reviews
2014-09-14
A magic diary handed down to a teen girl following her father's death eases and complicates her transition to a new school. Sophomore Autumn Falls, so named because it was her dad's favorite season, quickly connects with a group of quirky classmates when she starts at Florida's Aventura High. Unfortunately, when clever, kind, gorgeous Sean takes notice of her, she unknowingly incites the wrath of Reenzie, his childhood best friend, who's in love with him. Some truly wicked bullying follows, and once Autumn begins to understand that her dad's old diary seems to make her wishes come true, it becomes hard for her to resist using it to fight back. This light read by teen actress Thorne mixes realistic drama with the vague paranormal power of the diary, explained by Autumn's grandmother as having to do with the zemi on its cover, an icon believed by the ancient Taino people of Cuba to house spirits. There are other references throughout to Bella's Cuban heritage, so while it's not completely out of context, more development of this concept would have strengthened the story. Bella's moral quandaries about the diary are believable though too easily resolved at times.A somewhat open ending suggests there is more to come. Fans of teen romance will be glad of it. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)

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Product Details

ISBN-13:
9780385744348
Publisher:
Random House Children's Books
Publication date:
07/28/2015
Pages:
240
Sales rank:
168,522
Product dimensions:
8.20(w) x 11.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:
12 - 17 Years

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