Review by Booklist Review
Tegan has a limb difference. Born with a hand having only two fingers, she's been made to feel that she's inferior and a source of horror. As a result, she harbors anger over many aspects of her life, mollifying her mood through the secrets she keeps. Mac Durant, on the other hand, is the perfect athlete that Tegan's always hated and fantasized about. When an early evening snowstorm brings the two together at the New Jersey museum where Tegan works (the Thomas Edison Center in Menlo Park), a night of surprises unfolds. Mac opens up about his alcoholic father as Tegan gives him a tour of the museum, and they develop a bond. But when he explains why he had to leave his pre-professional soccer team, Tegan's soul is pierced because she knows that one of her secrets is the cause. Filled with details about the small museum, the unique setting enhances the deep pain both characters have never before expressed. Tegan and Mac are well developed, and their story is one that readers will find intimate and heartrending.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
New Jersey's Thomas Edison Center might not seem like the best place to wait out a snowstorm, but two teens bond there after hours in Emmich's (Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel) quirky book about the power of honesty and forgiveness--and the temptations of internet anonymity. When the storm starts, neither Tegan Everly nor Mac Durant want to go home. Presumed-white museum employee Tegan, who was born with two fingers on her left hand, has had a huge fight with her mother; white golden boy Mac Durant is worried about and angry with his father, who habitually drinks. They're sophomores at the same school, but self-conscious Tegan assumes that they'll have nothing in common. The two grow closer as Tegan shows off the Edison exhibits and the two begin revealing themselves; as she learns about Mac's seemingly perfect life, Tegan realizes how false that is and how uncomfortable she feels about some of the things she's done. Emmich uses second-person interludes and Tegan's emails to her father to show how much Tegan has on her mind; it makes for an effective slow reveal that puts readers in the complex--and human--position of liking someone whose behavior is problematic. Ages 14--up. Agents: Jeff Kleinman and John Cusick, Folio Literary. (Sept.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up--When Tegan Everly gets into a fight with her mother, she runs out of her house into a winter storm. Finding refuge in the quaint Thomas Edison Museum, where she used to work, she is shocked when the popular Mac Durant walks in, blood dripping from his hand. As the night unfolds, the two reveal the circumstances that led them there, while also sharing intimate details of their lives. Tegan, always self-conscious about being born with only two fingers on one hand, realizes that the way she has misjudged Mac through the years is no better than how others always seem to pity her for her limb difference. As the night plays out and the two begin to bond amid the eclectic historic gadgets, Tegan gets closer to divulging one secret that may destroy everything. Emmich creates an intriguing world inside the walls of the museum, allowing Tegan and Mac's unconventional friendship to develop. Through Tegan, he depicts what it feels like to live with a disability, and succeeds at highlighting the conflicting emotions of teens as they deal with complex social and familial issues. Tegan and Mac are both white, and Tegan's closest friend, Neel, is Indian American. VERDICT A page-turner filled with romance, teenage angst, and tough choices related to identity. Recommended for all high school libraries.--Karin Greenberg, Manhasset H.S., NY
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Tegan's world was unraveling before Mac stumbled into the museum; tonight could change everything. Tegan misses her father and disdains her mother, now happy with her live-in partner, Charlie. After a fight with her mom, Tegan's taken refuge after hours at the Thomas Edison Center, where she's been an intern. Born with just a thumb and ring finger on her left hand and perennially hyperaware of her appearance, she's shocked and embarrassed when Mac, a classmate and popular jock, arrives--his hand bleeding--and asks her to call 911 to report a potential suicide. Tegan complies, then tends to his wound. She's been crying and ran outside in old clothes but recognizes Mac is frazzled, too. At a loss, she gives him a museum tour. Over the long, snowy night, they connect. Mac's trusting willingness to share difficult life events disarms Tegan, awakening a yearning to share her own, more toxic secret despite the risk. Despite unnecessarily schematic plotting (key information is initially withheld), the story and characters will sustain reader interest. Emmich captures the excruciating self-consciousness and lacerating self-talk of adolescence, magnified and relentlessly scrutinized through social media and here exacerbated by Tegan's limb difference and fractured family. Tegan's struggles to reconcile her longing both for invisibility and to be seen and understood are compelling, familiar, and moving. Most characters are presumed White; Charlie is Black, and Tegan's best friend is Indian American. An immersive, compassionate tale about coming-of-age in a single night. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
