LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
November 2024 Book of the Month
In 24 seconds Neon will have sex for the first time with his girlfriend Aria, right now he’s in the toilet trying to calm his nerves. 24 minutes ago he was knocking on Aria’s front door, full of love and anticipation. 24 hours before that he was working on his school year book project and receiving romance advice from his big sister.
Twenty-Four Seconds From Now continues in this unique style, moving back through Neon’s story in increments of 24. Hours, days, weeks and months. As we travel back through his life we learn not only the story of his relationship with Aria, but also the stories of his friends, family and community. With Jason Reynold’s unique gift for conjuring up with only a few words the very essence of a character, Neon’s world and history is laid before us. From Aria’s pushy parents to Neon’s grandparents’s own love story, Reynolds once again shows that he can say more in a couple of lines than most authors can in numerous chapters.
In his acknowledgements Reynolds states that Black boys deserve love stories too, and wow has he delivered. Full of all the tender hopes and fears of first love, Neon’s story is honest, authentic and beautifully. A welcome antidote to toxic masculinity, here we have a main character who cries when others cry, and loves without embarrassment. Whilst the friends and family who surround him are equally well-developed, not least his hilariously direct Mum and full-of-wisdom Gammy.
At one point Neon's Grandy ponders "But I don't know if you can really be great if you can't... do... romance." If romance is a qualification for greatness, rest assured Reynolds is one of the greatest writers for young people we have. A must read.
Amy McKay
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About
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now Synopsis
Seventeen-year-old Neon is about to have sex with his girlfriend, Aria, for the first time. In 24 seconds to be precise. He's hiding in the bathroom, nervous, wanting to do everything right . . .
Rewind. To 24 minutes earlier where Neon rushes from work, taking the gift of fried chicken to Aria's house.
Rewind again. To 24 hours earlier when Neon's big sister has advice about sex which makes him think he probably shouldn't be listening to his friends.
To 24 days earlier. To 24 weeks earlier. To 24 months earlier, when he and Aria first met.
This tender, sweet, wholesome piece of fiction discusses how to approach first sex, how to respect women, how to be gentle, how to make it about love. It shows us a refreshingly different side to male sexuality.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780571390687 |
| Publication date: |
8th October 2024 |
| Author: |
Jason Reynolds |
| Publisher: |
Faber & Faber |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
239 pages |
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Press Reviews
Jason Reynolds Press Reviews
‘Jason Reynolds has done it again! But in a totally new way. His take on Neon's first time with Aria, his true love, is fresh from start to finish. Who wouldn't want a first time partner like Neon? He's tender and sweet and scared and funny. He's romantic. This is what it could be, should be, if only we were all as lucky as Aria. Girls (and everyone) wait for your Neon!’ - Judy Blume
‘Jason Reynolds is one of the best writers of this generation, and Twenty-Four Seconds From Now is further proof of that. With the authenticity, poignancy, and beauty often found in his work, Twenty-Four Seconds will stay with readers for years to come. A gem of a book!’ - Angie Thomas, internationally-bestselling author of Waterstones Children’s Book Prize winner The Hate U Give
‘Reynolds is a master at making us feel at home in other people's neighbourhoods.’ - The Times
‘Reynolds astounds in a sweetly hilarious story of two Black teens preparing to take a huge first step in their relationship... Authentically tapping into the way teens think, Reynolds delivers a mighty exaltation to Black love in this moving story of one boy’s growth and the community that fosters it.’ - Publishers Weekly, starred review
Author
About Jason Reynolds
Jason Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author, shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, National Book Award Honoree, a Kirkus Award winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. The American Booksellers Association's 2017 and 2018 spokesperson for Indies First, his many books include When I Was the Greatest, Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), and Long Way Down, which received both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor. He lives in Washington, DC.
From Jason: "Here's what I know: I know there are a lot - A LOT - of young people who hate reading. I know that many of these book haters are boys. I know that many of these book-hating boys, don't actually hate books, they hate boredom. So here's what I plan to do: NOT WRITE BORING BOOKS."
Photo copyright Dayo Kosoko
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