Age 14 book geert spillebeen biography

  • It is 1913, and twelve-year-old Patrick
  • Patrick Condon longs to be
  • “AGE 14” is another novel translated

    • AGE 14

    In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.

    Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.

    A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)

    Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

    ISBN: 9781728276229

    Page Count: 416

    Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

    Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024

    Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024

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    Age 14

    June 4, 2013
    The tale that comes with the character of Patrick Condon, or his pseudonym "John" Condon, is a story filled with history and adventure. Just like the title, at age 14 Patrick is trying to enter the Special Reserve even though he isn't 17 yet. In 1913, Condon joined in hope of good pay and plenty of action, both of which he could not receive while living with his family in Waterford. Most of the money went to his oblivious family, who didn't know he went to join the Reserve until after he had sent a letter to them. In 1914, World War I exploded and "John" was sent to the front on the French-Belgian border, and so meets his ultimate end. All in all, the book was bland and dissatisfying, and since the text was translated from a foreign author, it seems as if some words were lost in translation, hence failing to properly deliver plot points by using tell rather than show (plain explanation as opposed to imagery).

    One piece of solid evidence that exemplifies loss of text value due to translation is the lack of imagery in the text. For example, when John first sees the war-torn soldier that had recently been discharged from the war, his appearance was vaguely explained. Here is a little excerpt from the text: " 'Hi,John,' says the man, breaking the silence. He raises his right arm, which is half gone." (Spillebeen/Edelstein,118)
    Another example of bad imagery when the narrator explains Condon's other job aside from being in the reserve. He says, "Plowing, harrowing, sowing, tending the animals. It seemed like a crash course in farming. Patrick helped out as much as he could and earned a substantial salary for his efforts." (Spillebeen/Edelstein, 61)

    These quotes personally failed to paint pictures in my head of just how bad the man's arm really was, and what farm life looked like for John Condon through the eyes of the speaker. The author could easily have described the texture or color of the torn skin or what facial expressions Condon had o

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