Lovin' los libros

Golden
   by: Jessi Kirby

Publication Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 288 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 5/5 stars

                    -goodreads.com description

I am still reeling from the amazingness that is this book. I gave it 5 stars on GR and I don't want to start another book yet because I just want to bask in the afterglow of this one.

 My only complaint? I wish it had come out 5 years ago, so I could have maybe taken some of the life lessons Parker learned and applied it to my own life.

In my opinion, I think every high school girl should read this before they graduate.

Parker, the story's protagonist is a girl who has always played by the rules and doesn't take risks or chances. Her mother is overbearing and clearly has a strong influence on Parker's decisions on what to do after she graduates.

Parker's best friend, Kat, is her polar opposite. She is spontaneous, fun, and has no qualms about breaking the rules.

Do not fret my friends! There is a boy involved in this novel. But the romance is not the main focus of the story and that was ok with me because the main storyline had such power to it. Parker has had a crush on Trevor Collins since the seventh grade, and their banter back and forth is really adorable. Parker describes him as a big flirt, and when we first meet him he is teasing her about joining him in the art closet before class. Of course, as the story goes on, we get to see the real Trevor, and I swooned over the sweetness.

Parker is a TA for a senior English teacher, who requires his seniors to keep a journal for the last half of their senior year. Their journal is completely theirs to write what they will in it and is then sealed up and returned to them 10 years later. Parker is helping her teacher send these journals out, when she stumbles across one that stops her dead in her tracks.

Through this journal's contents Parker suddenly begins to question her perfectly predictable life and we embark on an adventure to self-discovery, friendship, and love.

This book shows young readers that it is ok to take chances and to not be afraid to go after what you want because it would be such a tragedy years down the line to take a look back at your life and be reminded of the risks you were too fearful to take.

I end my book review with my one of my favorite movie quotes from, Empire Records. "I do not regret the things I've done, but those I did not do."

*Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing an advanced copy of this book for review in return for a fair and honest review.*