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Perry, Jolene
5 Reviews
(3)
YA
Growing up in a funeral home and with a goth fashion sense haven't done much for Gabrielle (Gabe)'s social status, but she'll always have her best friend, Bree. Then Bree prioritizes a new relationship (with Gabe's nemesis) over their friendship, and Gabe struggles with a fear of exploring first love herself. A surprise ending leaves readers with a weighty take on life, death, and love.
Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum
(4)
YA
Kyle is a timid music lover who works at the school radio station, Hailey a scrappy rock musician who is slowly going blind. In alternating chapters spanning years, this mismatched pair works through lists of their biggest fears while tiptoeing around a relationship. Lively characterization helps to balance the pair's slow-burning romantic tension, but a last-minute resolution feels hasty and thin.
Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald
(3)
YA
In a coming-of-age story set in Alaska, talented writer Clara struggles to come to terms with a bear attack that killed her mother and left her badly scarred. On top of that, her boyfriend, Elias, proposes; sexual curiosity challenges her Mormon faith; and she gets into her dream college--in NYC. Perry deftly combines many complex threads to reach a satisfying conclusion.
Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum
(3)
YA
After unimaginable lifelong abuse, fifteen-year-old Joy suffers debilitating panic attacks and fears even her couldn't-be-kinder uncle, whose family she's now living with. Friends and family slowly penetrate her shell, and Joy gradually finds new passions--and remembers old ones. Joy's harrowing journey unfolds through flashbacks of her past abuse, which are as painful and believable as the scenes of her emotional progress.
Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum
(4)
YA
In this tear-jerker of a summer romance novel, Aidan and Kate, both suffering from new disabilities, meet and begin dating hesitantly. Aidan has lost an arm (and his best friend) in Afghanistan; Kate has recently been dumped and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. No one will be surprised--but many will rejoice--when their new love helps them over the rough months.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth
5 reviews
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