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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

 
Release Date: May 14th, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: eGalley
 
 Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.
 
After reading Jessi Kirby's 2012 release, In Honor, she immediately moved to my auto-read/buy list and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of Golden. Not only was I stoked to read it because I love this author and her extremely impressive storytelling abilities, but I also loved the fact that the main character has ties to Robert Frost. This was particularly noteworthy to me, because Robert Frost is one of my all time favorite poets, so this was something Parker and I shared right off the bat.
 
Yet again Ms. Kirby has managed to suck me into a world and keep me there until I turned the last page. In Golden we get two different stories, but they are weaved together so well. Parker becomes fixated on the story of a girl who went to her high school years before, but tragedy struck and her life ended much to soon. While helping a teacher with a project, she comes across this girls journal and her morbid curiosity gets the better of her. This takes Parker and her friends on a journey to find the truth and in the process they all learn a little more about each other, their friendships, and themselves. And I am a huge fan of Jessi Kirby's endings. They aren't sad, but they aren't exactly happily ever after, either. They are satisfying, but yet leave you wanting just a little bit more.
 
I think what I loved most about this book is that you get a little bit of everything. It's part mystery, part romance, part road-trip, and all heart. While it didn't hold quite as much magic for me as In Honor did, it's still a story I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend to anyone and everyone. I can't wait to put this one on my bookshelves :0) 

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