WHO IS MACKIE SPENCE?

A romance blossoms between two teens while strange circumstances threaten to tear them apart.

Mackie Spence nearly drowned over summer break. When her family's boat capsized, Mackie spent three hours lost in the water and a week in a coma after that. And then she woke up. Now she's back at school, and longtime friend Jeremy is drawn toward her more than ever, wondering how she survived and hoping she likes him as much as he likes her. As the two teens court, Kaymer displays a wonderful talent for developing relationships with realism and ease. This is a sweet, good-natured romance not fueled by teen lust or high emotion but by genuine personal attraction. Adding to the realism is Jeremy and Mackie's group of friends, a group that doesn't fit into any standard stereotype. The author captures what it’s like to be a smart, emotionally stable, excitable teenager without resorting to tropes or archetypes. The book's fantasy elements are less intriguing, with some odd worldbuilding in the back end that comes close to undercutting the courtship between Mackie and Jeremy. The fantasy and romance elements pinball against one another and never jell as well as they should, resulting in a mildly engaging fantasy/mystery grafted onto a charming love story. 

Half great, half so-so, but most readers will leave satisfied.