Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Second Chance Summer

by Morgan Matson
Published May 8th 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Young Adult/Contemporary/Romance
468 pages
Stand-alone
Other books from the author: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

***

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

Name: Taylor Edwards

Hobby: Running away when things get hard

On the first few pages of Second Chance Summer, we got to know Taylor as a middle child with two very different siblings—they have their own things while Taylor does not really have anything special about her—so running away from home has been, in a way, her own trick to get the attention. Taylor does not feel like she has a super strong bond with her family, but she's pretty close to her dad, who had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

But the fact that her dad's going to die isn't the only thing Taylor has to face at Lake Phoenix. There's Lucy, her former bestfriend, and Henry, her first boyfriend (and first attempt at something called love) because things certainly were not good after Taylor ran off from them when something bad happened, five summers earlier.

pic source

 Second Chance Summer is a story which focused a lot in The Edwards' family dynamic with a side of romance, completed with a lovely setting and set in summertime. I love how the author portrayed Taylor's relationship with her dad (I'm a bit daddy's girl myself so I feel like it really got me)—their habit to get breakfast at a diner or buying groceries together, how her dad encouraged Taylor to get a job, have some fun and 'do great things', such lovely moments—also showing Taylor's struggle to say 'I love you' to her dad but never finding a perfect time... I felt myself teared up a bit when little by little, day by day, her dad's situation get worsened :'|

But it's really good that this time Taylor's forced to actually face things instead of running from them. She quickly reconciled her friendship with Lucy (although not without some difficulties before), and smooth things over with Henry (have I told you the fact that Henry is a bakery boy? He works with dough and bread and make cookies and cupcakes daily! Oh how I love it!). Taylor also learned to enjoy her job at the snack bar by the beach, and getting over her public speaking problem through Movie Nights (They have a movie night by the beach on summer! Wonderful). And finally, understanding the fact that this, is actually the last time she and her family could do things with her dad, thus they have to make the most of it.

“The thing is that people only get hurt—really hurt—when they’re trying to play it safe. That’s when people get injured, when they pull back at the last second because they’re scared. They hurt themselves and other people.” —Lucy Morino

Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by the awesome girls at The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is

TOP TEN AUTHORS WHO DESERVE MORE RECOGNITION

or in my own version: TRANSLATE THEIR BOOKS ALREADY!

I know that Rainbow Rowell's getting more and more popular nowadays, and she definitely deserves it. Her works are incredible! Eleanor & Park is the first book of her that I read and Attachments was really enjoyable as well. I can't wait for Fangirl & been wanting for a publisher in Indonesia to translate her books.

Katja Millay started her career in publishing industry as a self-published author. If you've read this interview with her over at The Midnight Garden, you might have known the struggle she did to get her books out there until Atria Books picked The Sea of Tranquility to be mass-published. I remember that time when I tweeted that I cried after reading TSoT, and Katja replied saying "Sorry for the tears!" Oh don't worry Ms Millay, the tears meant I've-read-such-good-book-and-it's-so-fantastic-it-made-me-cry.

Oh, you haven't read My Life Next Door? WHY? Why, why, why? Don't you want to get to know my-ultimate-book-boyfriend Jase Garret and his awesome family? I could hardly believe that My Life Next Door was actually Huntley Fitzpatrick's debut novel. The book is light, fluffy and fun, with slightly minor angst. But one book is enough to make me want to read her next novels!

A local publisher have publised some of Simon Elkeles' books and I'm wondering why they haven't published Katie McGarry's books yet. In my opinion, these authors have the same level of awesomeness. Their books are filled with hot boys and mostly deals with tough subjects that will pull your heart inside out from the angst. Angst are good, especially when they're ended with HEA ;)

Honestly, I just read Ms Kirby's book for the first time this year (Golden, that is) followed by another one and was asking myself why I didn't get to know this author sooner. I'm in love with Jessi Kirby's writing style and there are lots of people who praise her books. If you're looking for a coming of age story (and may want to take a break from Sarah Dessen or Courtney Summers), her books will definitely be a good choice!

Ok, call me a cheat cause I actually haven't read Lovely, Dark and Deep but I'M DYING TO READ IT! The reviews I've came across Amy McNamara's first book was mostly positive and I'm sooo interested by the premise of Lovely, Dark and Deep. Also, the cover! Oh my, the cover.

Morgan Matson, Morgan Matson, Morgan Matson! PLEASE, ANYONE, TRANSLATE HER BOOKS so more and more people will get to read the great epicness of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour! I love, LOVE every bit of that book. The playlist, receipts, pictures... That is how exactly a road-trip book should be written! And I just recently finished Second Chance Summer too. Gah. What can I say? Morgan Matson is amazing and I can't wait to read more of her writings.

I think the first YA book I read before the one that actually got me hooked up to YA genre  (cough*Twilight*cough) was Looking for Alibrandi. On 5th grade, maybe? There were some parts I didn't understand but I remember how I fell in love with the boy (Jacob?) and the relationship between Josephine and her father. Years passed and I adore Melina Marchetta even more when she came back with a fantasy novel that are equally awesome as her contemporaries! Her books have been translated here, but I don't think there are actually many people who know and read it....

The idea of writing a book about stockholm syndrome from the victim's point of view may not be that special, but would you believe it if I say that the writer had also succeeded in making the readers of the Stolen book to suffer from the syndrome too? Seriously. Read the book and you will not not fall in love with Ty & the Australian wilderness. I do think lots of people have recognized Lucy and her works but none of it have been translated in Indonesia. Why?

Dum, dum, dum... Here it is, the one and only local author on this list. Maria Jaclyn has only written one book (published 2007!) but one is enough to make her my favorite teenlit author. De Buron was light, funny and overall great, I love it even more because the author provided a sketch of Kimly's room. Such a unique idea! It's small but definitely matter for the reader. But unfortunately.... She hasn't written any book since :-( *pouty face* Where have you been and why did you go, Maria Jaclyn? Please come back with a new book, pleaaaaaase.

What do you think? Do any of the author above also made it to your list? Have you seen and meet them in book tours, book discussion or book signing in your place? Do share your links so I could check out your list, too! =)

Hawa oleh Riani Kasih

Hawa

oleh Riani Kasih
 Juara #2 Lomba Penulisan Novel Amore
Diterbitkan Juli 2013 oleh Gramedia Pustaka Utama
254 hlm

***

Empat tahun menjalin hubungan tidak menjamin Hawa berjodoh dengan Abhirama. Hubungan mereka luarnya saja tampak mesra, padahal mereka dua orang yang memaksakan saling memahami, tapi sayangnya tak berhasil. Akhirnya, Hawa membatalkan sepihak rencana pernikahannya dengan Abhirama.

Karena sedih, malu dan kecewa, Hawa menenangkan diri ke rumah Omanya di pedalaman Kalimantan Barat. Di situlah Hawa bertemu dengan Landu, polisi yang bertugas di Kapuas Hulu. Perjumpaan mereka yang berawal dari kejadian tidak mengenakkan lambat laun menumbuhkan bibit cinta. Perlahan, kehadiran Landu yang pendiam tapi dewasa menyembuhkan luka hati Hawa.

Tetapi, sanggupkah Hawa menerima cinta Landu pada saat Abhirama menyusulnya dan memintanya kembali ke pelukannya?

Sejujurnya setiap kali saya baca buku hasil menang lomba yang diadakan oleh sebuah penerbit, biasanya lebih sering kecewa daripada setuju dengan pilihan juri. Lagipula saya belum pernah baca genre Amore. Tapi karena ini diadakan oleh penerbit besar dan disebut-sebut di twitter salah satu editor kebanggaannya, saya penasaran juga.

Apa yang saya suka dari kisah Hawa?

1. Fisik dulu ya. Covernya cantik! Manis, pink pula. Tadinya saya niatnya cari Mahogany Hills (yang menang pertama Lomba Amore ini), tapi karena kebetulan adanya Hawa dan covernya attractive, jadi saya beli deh ;)

2. Latar cerita yang nggak biasa dan world build-up yang kuat. Sejiram, Kalimantan Barat digambarkan dengan baik oleh Riani Kasih. Suasananya, kehidupan para masyarakatnya. Hal-hal yang dilakukan Hawa dan Landu di kencan-kencan mereka juga asyik euy: sepedahan bareng kemudian nonton sunrise, belajar naik speedboat, panen madu. Jadi semacam great escape dari buku-buku lain yang kebanyakan nyeritain kisah-kisah berlatar kota metropolitan.

3. Kisah Landu dan Hawa ini berproses. Mungkin karena saya kebanyakan baca YA dimana *uhuk* insta-love udah nggak asing lagi *uhuk*, Landu dan Hawa yang awalnya nggak suka satu sama lain ini jadi 'wah' buat saya. Iyalah, belum apa-apa Hawa udah ngelempar kaleng minuman ringan aja ke Landu. Landu nganggepnya Hawa cuma cewek angkuh, Hawa juga berpendapat bahwa Landu aneh. Baru setelah beberapa kesempatan, mereka akhirnya lebih tau pribadi asli masing-masing.

4. Landu si polisi yang romantis ini.... Likeable banget deh ((senyum-senyum menye)). Berdedikasi terhadap pekerjaan, baik, ramah, penyayang pula. Rasa sayangnya Landu buat Hawa itu kerasa banget, terutama di bagian kedua dimana hubungan mereka bener-bener diuji.

Apa yang saya nggak suka dari kisah Hawa?

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Genre: Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
Pages: 231 pg
Published Date: December 28th 2006
Publisher: Speak
Stand-alone.

 ***

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

                                   “When I look at my room, I see a girl who loves books.”

So, I finally read Looking for Alaska!

This is one of the books that have bugged me for long, because I've heard a lot and stumble a lot into it almost everywhere: tweets, tumblr posts, book blogs, and so on. Some friends said they didn't like it, but some other people said the book is brilliant. There was of course an expectation from my ownself to also find Looking for Alaska as enjoyable & as brilliant as any other people have said, until it becomes a problem when I didn't.

In short, no, I can't say that I like it in the same level as I like The Fault in Our Stars (the first book of John Green I read). For me, these two books are totally in a different level. I adore Miles and his desire to seek a Great Perhaps (whatever it is), and I found his gang of friends on Culver Creek (which consists of Miles himself/Pudge, Chip/Colonel, Takumi, and Alaska) to be super cool and totally fun to hang out together. There's a lot of crazy pranks and hilarious moments on almost every part of the book and that made me LOL a lot. They're silly, crazy and freaky, but I couldn't relate or sympathize with their needs to booze a lot of times. Sure, these teenagers are flawed and broken, and maybe it's just my dislike toward such a messed up lifestyle, but their habits and constant needs of alcohol, sex, and smoking (graphically described, too) was kinda a turn-off.

The Colonel led all the cheers.
"Cornbread!" He screamed.
"CHICKEN!" The crowd responded.
"Rice!"
"PEAS!"
And then, all together: "WE GOT HIGHER SATs."
"Hip Hip Hip Hooray!" The Colonel cried.
"YOU'LL BE WORKIN' FOR US SOMEDAY!"

But there's this aspect of Looking for Alaska that's more interesting for me to tackle on, and it was what kept me going. In the book, John Green did not only write about this life of 4 teenagers in a boarding school doing their crazy stuff, but he also brings the subject of life, death, mortality, suffering, grief and many other heavy things. Miles' favorite class was World Religions taught by Mr Hyde, which I also favorited through the book. To be honest, as a teenager myself, it's been a long time (since around 8th grade, I guess) that I started asking my ownself about these topics. What happened after we die? What does it feels like to be dead? Does an afterlife really exist, or is it just made up by human? I mean, no one who've experienced it ever come back and tell us about it, right. How could we be so sure heaven and hell are really there? For final, the students in Mr Hyde's class was asked to write about 'what the most important question facing people is', and Alaska's question was: "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?" 

The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand

The Chocolate Thief

Judul: The Chocolate Thief
Penulis: Laura Florand
Genre: Contemporary romance-Chicklit
Seri: Amour et Chocolat #1
Penerbit: Kensington
Tanggal terbit: 31 Juli 2012
There might be spoilers. You've been warned.
#PostingBarengBBI Juni: Romance

***

Paris—fashion, romantis, dan cokelat.
Namun, tidak untuk wanita Amerika sepertiku. Aku sudah tidak tahan lagi berjalan (sok) anggun dengan high heels ini. Menurutku, Paris juga bukan kota teromantis di dunia. Dan tolong catat, semua itu berawal dari Sylvain Marquis yang dengan sombongnya menolakku untuk bekerja sama.

Oh God! Apa dia tidak mengenaliku? Aku ini Cade Corey, pewaris tahta Corey Chocolate, perusahaan cokelat terbesar di Amerika. Oke, lihat saja.... Memangnya hanya dia satu-satunya pembuat cokelat terbaik di dunia ini?!

"There you go again."
"What do you mean?"
"Falling for some glamorous, rich woman who's just going to use you."

I love June! Tema baca barengnya pasti nggak jauh-jauh dari summer reading, holiday, atau sesuatu yang ringan-ringan dan berbau contemporary =D Buat baca bareng BBI dengan tema romance kali ini saya baca The Chocolate Thief-nya Laura Florand.

Cade Corey adalah wanita sukses pewaris takhta Corey Chocolate, sebuah perusahaan besar milik keluarganya yang dibangun di Maryland, Amerika. Kali ini Cade punya satu keinginan: Membuat sebuah premium-line bagi cokelat produksi Corey, yang akan dibuat eksklusif bersama seorang chocolatier terbaik dari Prancis. Target utamanya adalah Sylvain Marquis, chocolatier handal dari Paris yang tidak hanya berbakat, tapi juga tampan dan sangat passionate terhadap cokelat. Namun Cade tidak menyangka Sylvain akan menolak tawarannya ini mentah-mentah. Meskipun ia punya daftar panjang chocolatier lain yang bisa ia ajak bekerja sama, Sylvain tetaplah target utama. Cade yang geram berusaha mencari cara lain agar ia bisa mengetahui resep rahasia pembuatan cokelat dari Sylvain. Ia bertekad akan melakukan segala cara, termasuk menyamar jadi orang lain demi mengikuti workshop pembuatan cokelat oleh Sylvain maupun menyusup ke dalam tempat kerjanya. Hence the name, The Chocolate Thief.

Things that are special about The Chocolate Thief...

1. Ceritanya berlatarkan kota Paris, kota favorit semua orang saat membaca. Iya kan? Rasanya saya jarang banget nemuin buku berlatar Paris/Prancis yang nggak disukai orang-orang (Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss, Rachmania Arunita's Eiffel I'm In Love, Gayle Forman's Just One Day, to mention a few). The Chocolate Thief nggak menggambarkan Paris secara detail, tapi suasananya tetap terasa selama membaca keseluruhan buku. There are bits of french every here and there, yang mendukung untuk menambah kesan 'Prancis' di dalam ceritanya.

2. Sudut pandang cerita menggunakan sudut pandang ketiga, baik dari sisi Cade maupun Sylvain. And Laura was good at telling the story this way. Meskipun penulisan dari POV ketiga kadang membuat cerita terasa distant dengan pembaca, tapi overall hal ini nggak jadi masalah besar saat membaca The Chocolate Thief. Not to mention the book is also very funny and entertaining! Penulisnya jelas-jelas tau apa yang ia tulis dalam ceritanya. Penggambaran maupun pendeskripsian mengenai dunia per-cokelat-an dijelaskan dengan ngalir dan enak, seolah-olah kita pembacanya sendiri lagi menikmati sebatang cokelat yang lezat.

Best Books I've Read So Far in 2013

Ugh, I hate it, hate it when my wifi is being such a snail. Grrrrr.
I'm participating back in this week's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by the awesome people over at The Broke & The Bookish) and the topic this time is:

BEST BOOKS I'VE READ SO FAR IN 2013

This year has been (and still is) a very busy year for me so I've only managed to read about 46 books *insert sad face* Sometimes it's hard to even take a peek at books that I really wanted to read, even going to a bookstore has been a rare ocassion these last months :( Okay, enough with the whining. Anyway, here is my list of favorite books that I've read this year!

First row

Arranged by Katherine McKenzie: Fun, fun, fun. Desperate Anne is looking for a lifemate... by signing up herself into a dating service where she'll meet and marry Jack. Wow, complete stranger. How will the marriage be and can Jack be completely trusted? Love the whole Anne of Green Gables reference troughout the story!

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: Lots of people starting to recognize Rainbow Rowell's name through her works: Eleanor & Park, Attachments and (the upcoming) Fangirl. There's something special about the way Rowell writes her books... But Eleanor & Park is both painful & wonderful to read, that's for sure.

Pulang by Laila S Chudori: I rarely bought local books this year, but this one stood out. Entertaining read with a dash of history and lovely narration but definitely not boring!

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: Cries, cries, cries! I didn't expect to meet and fall in love with Will Treynor, no. Sometimes I wish I could undo the moment when I picked this book to read... Because I'm still feeling heartbroken everytime I remember about Lou & Will's story.

Second row

Stolen by Lucy Christopher: Stolen is a letter written by Gemma to her abductor, Ty. Gemma has been stolen and brought to live with Ty in the wilderness of Australian desert. You know what's amazing about this book (beside its narration and setting description)? When you read it, you'll be able to really experience what it feels like to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome. Without even realizing it yourself!

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: How does it feels like when your crush reads all the email you wrote to your bestfriend about him? O-M-Gee, total humiliation. But Lincoln falls in love with the Beth he reads through her emails, even when he doesn't even know how Beth looks like. Fun with minimal amount of angst and lots of swoon. Totally my kind of favorite!

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen: Recent read. Sarah Dessen is back with her full power! A lovely coming of age story, set in summertime filled with beach, hot boys, and a pinch of family drama. Perfect read for summer! :)

Origin by Jessica Khoury: I've been to lots of places through books that I've read in 2013 but this one is totally my favorite: In the depth of amazon jungle, South America! Yay! Meet Pia, Eio and Alai, and be ready to fall in love.

Third row

Tangled by Emma Chase: Reading a story from a man's point of view can be oh so fun. Moreover it's from Drew Evans, an handsome but arrogant multibillionaire from New York. Drew is used to get anything he wants when he wants it, so what happens when he meets a woman who cannot fall upon his charms?

Golden by Jessi Kirby: My first time reading a book from Kirby and I fell in love. Golden by Jessi Kirby is another beautiful coming of age story, told in a unique way from Parker's eyes after finding Julianna Farnetti's journal. Quiet, moving, realistic, entertaining.

Do we have any of 2013's favorite books in common? Tell me what you think or share your list so I could check it out! :)

Read other awesome entries of 2013's best reads so far... here.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More

Title: The Moon and More
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: Young Adult-Contemporary
Published Date: June 4th 2013
Publisher: Penguin, Viking Juvenile
Pages: 435 pg
There might be spoilers. You've been warned.

***

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

 “Welcome to Colby Realty! Name, please?”

The Moon and More is definitely a cupcake! The book is beautifully crafted. Look at that beautiful cover. I looooooove it so much! I'm always excited reading a book with beautiful covers. And it's by Sarah Dessen, anyway. You know what to expect when you read her works. But still, The Moon and More ended up as another pleasant reading experience.

Reading Emaline's story is like listening to a friend-that-you-like's experience of her lovely summer. She's just graduated from high school, working at her family's beach-realty company while waiting for college to start in August. There's a lot of things I like about Emaline: She's a small-town girl with a nice spirit who wants to do 'something big', to achieve 'something great', but also stays true to her roots. I adore the lovely dynamics she has with her family (Emaline has a dad and a father, and through this story I realized that the two titles has such different meanings). This summer she found out Luke, her long-term boyfriend since ninth grade had cheated on her, so they broke up and later Emaline's got a summer fling in the form of Theo: a NYU student who's currently working for Ivy, someone who wants to make a documentary about a painter who comes from the town Emaline lives in. As a boy who comes from a big city, Theo's not like everyone else: He's a dorky nerd who has ambitions, and is driven about the things he wants or his life's goals. He evokes this side of Emaline that exist too, the side who's yearning to get out of Colby and move somewhere new, somewhere she can live a totally different life. This different-ness of Theo is something refreshing for Emaline.

Through The Moon and More too, Emaline learns that with hope sometimes also comes disappointments, and that changes, no matter how much you're dreading it, will always be inevitable, eventhough it's in a form you did not expect before. Emaline got a chance to study at Columbia, which is a big thing for her, but unfortunately she could not accept it because his father who's been encouraging her to achieve it suddenly called off the promise of supplying the tuition fees. Their relationship has been awkward afterward, but now Emaline has to deal with him and her little 10 yo half brother, Benji (Emaline's brother from her father) who's currently spending the summer in Colby after Benji's parents decided to separate.

 “Life is long. Just because you don't get your chance right when you want or expect it doesn't mean it won't come. Fate doesn't punch a time clock or consult a schedule.”

Golden by Jessi Kirby

Golden

Title: Golden
Author: Jessi Kirby
Genre: Young Adult-Contemporary-Realistic Fiction
Published Date: May 14th 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 288 pg

***

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.

“We're all more than the person we show to everyone else.” 

I love Golden by Jessi Kirby because I could totally relate to the main character, Parker Frost. It's always nice to find bits of ourselves in other people's story, yes?

All her life Parker has always been a good straight-A student, living the life according to the rules to live up her mother's expectations. She never dare to 'break out' or do something out of ordinary. Now in her last quarter of high school, Parker began wondering about one thing that would always cross every one's mind at least once in their life before experiencing adulthood: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

At the same time, Parker was helping his teacher, Mr Kinney, to return journals of her seniors that were written 10 years ago. She came across Julianna Farnetti's journal, a girl who was the golden couple of Parker's high school, the girl who was involved in a tragic car-crashed-into-the-river-and-the-bodies-have-never-been-found accident ten years ago with her boyfriend, Shane Cruz. Julianna is the main girl who everyone envied, the heart of the city. Her and Shane was always seen as the couple who had it all, before the accident happened right after their graduation night. Parker couldn't help but read Julianna's journal, and by revealing the mystery about that night and finding out a totally different Julianna in the journal than what everyone has always been thinking about her, this later helped Parker to change her perspective about life. As if finding the journal was the answer to Parker's life choices & questions.