A lightly philosophical summer romance for any time of year.
Are there infinite realities in which every possible permutation of our choices exists?
It’s the summer between sophomore and junior year, and Summer Everett’s phone rings just as she’s about to board a plane to France. The caller ID says “unknown,” leaving the always-indecisive Summer with a dilemma: should she answer it? Here, the narrative splits into two possible realities. In the first, Summer silences the phone, shoves it into her pocket, and continues on her way to Les Deux Chemins—“The Two Paths”—in Provence, her famous artist father’s vacation home. In the second reality, Summer answers the phone; it’s her father, telling her not to come to France, and consequently, she spends the summer at home in sleepy Hudsonville, New York. Although the settings are vastly different, both Summers find romance (sadly, they both judge their worth by what boys think of them), discover their burgeoning talent for photography, and gather the courage to accept change and stop wondering “What if….” Experienced and observant readers will solve a devastating, long-kept family secret far ahead of Summer's discovery of same. The Provençal location is a refreshing change from the Parisian setting of so many other teen-abroad novels. Many teen readers who have visited France will relate to Summer’s bemusement over hand-held showering, iceless drinking water, and cheek kissing. Summer is white, but her Hudsonville friends are pleasingly diverse.
A lightly philosophical summer romance for any time of year. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-51807-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Point/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Being called a firecracker is a derogatory term as far as Astrid is concerned, but for readers, it simply means entertaining.
Not your everyday poor-little-rich-girl story.
Astrid Krieger is incredibly rich. She has no friends and has just been expelled from her private school. She is being forced to attend (horrors!) public school and to see a therapist, the same guy who expelled her for cheating. But don’t feel sorry for Astrid: She has never been at a loss in her life and will undoubtedly not only survive, but make miserable anyone who has ever offended her. As Astrid recounts her story, her astringent wit and distinctive outlook is reflected in a wry, consistently diverting voice that occasionally indulges in a surfeit of swearing. The arc of the plot is never in doubt, as from the first page readers know this self-centered egoist will eventually find friends and learn that doing good can be great. Astrid’s version of doing good gradually gains some depth, but she never loses her sense that she belongs at the center of the world or, er, galaxy. A ditzy older sister and the curmudgeonly grandfather who built the family fortune are some of the more entertaining characters, while the fellow students who populate both private and public schools are considerably less vivid, but that is as it should be. Astrid seldom notices in any depth the lesser beings in her universe, with a choice few exceptions.
Being called a firecracker is a derogatory term as far as Astrid is concerned, but for readers, it simply means entertaining. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: May 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59514-370-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
In the end, this debut feels long and may not contain enough real substance to appeal to even the most avid of summer-camp...
BFFs Emma, Jo, Skylar and Maddie meet up at Camp Nedoba the year after their last summer at the traditional camp, intending to renew their personal vows of loyalty to each other and to enjoy a nostalgic week of s’mores and summer fun.
The lifelong friendships start to crack under the strain of very real adult dilemmas caused by boyfriend trouble, deception and betrayal. The girls are forced to examine their summer-camp relationships through the prism of their increasingly complex lives. Each of the four harbors a secret that is revealed at an inopportune moment. Middle-class Maddie has invented a wealthy family; Skylar doesn’t get along with her demanding father; Emma has a secret, unrequited passion for one of the boys at camp; tomboy Jo, the daughter of the camp owner, realizes that being the life and soul of camp administration is not helping her image in the boyfriend stakes. However, in the end, friendship trumps all, and each girl finds her own resolution to life’s gnarly problems. The chirpy narrative, though introduced in Emma’s first-person, alternates its third-person focus from girl to girl and is punctuated by flashbacks to earlier summers. Despite orienting chapter headers, the lack of differentiation of flashbacks from the present-day story is sometimes confusing.
In the end, this debut feels long and may not contain enough real substance to appeal to even the most avid of summer-camp fans. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: May 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59514-672-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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