THE PROMISE OF AMAZING

Good girl tames bad boy in Constantine’s first novel.

High school junior Wren Caswell has entered her “semester of discontent.” Denied entry to Sacred Heart Academy’s National Honor Society for being “too quiet” and ranked No. 49 out of 102 students, Wren has never stood out from the crowd. Grayson Barrett is a repentant player and self-described “term-paper pimp” trying to distance himself from his crew of baddies and leave his manipulative ways behind. When Wren saves him from choking on a cocktail weenie at a wedding reception held at her family’s banquet hall, the Camelot Inn, their lives become a game of Mars vs. Venus. The stereotypical male-female dynamic takes hold: Wren becomes the reformed con artist’s “moral compass,” and she spends too much time overanalyzing his actions and apparent disses, pretending she doesn’t care when he doesn’t return her texts. Wren and Grayson share the narration chapter by chapter, and their witty banter moves the story along. Nevertheless, it’s still a fairly standard teen love story: Girl and boy from different social circles meet, face obstacles from family and friends, and fall in love.

Feminists may recoil, but fans of light romance will discover a satisfying weekend read.