Erica Kiefer
Clean Teen Publishing
Officially a "new adult" novel (set out of high school, into the college age), this great story hooks you in with a great pitch, and leaves the reader satisfied with the development and conclusion.
Getting started in the story isn't so great, however. I measure an actor's ability to convince me by whether or not I'm aware of him or her acting the role. I measure maturity of an author by whether I'm aware of him or her writing the story. At the first of this book, I was put off by the rough start, the jumping from scene to scene, and the lack of immediate engagement.
What's different about this book
Despite some beginning stumbles, the story rewards those readers who stick with the plot development and the conclusion. And the author does a skilled job of covering the jumps with in-text explanations that fit right in.
The characters do slowly become fully-developed individuals, and by the last half of the book, I found myself really caring about what would come of each of those characters. A crucial literary quality of parsimony fails to apply here: There are a variety of characters and events that are introduced but ultimately do nothing to advance the story line. But this was a great read, if not one that hooks the readers in immediately.
And I *did* appreciate the "clean" story line; the novel manages to be realistic and engaging, without the language or graphic sex that often characterize young adult and new adult books. Yet at the same time, the story and protagonists are completely believable. It's a "clean" that doesn't diminish the reading pleasure or feel fake.
What I'll do now that I've read it
We'll be purchasing this title for our high school libraries. In particular, our readers that enjoy romance, as well as adventure (some throw-back from gang life), and realistic fiction will enjoy this novel. A good addition to our genres in multiple areas of the library.
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