This post contains affiliate links.
Title: Starry Eyes
Author: Jenn Bennett
Sub-genre: Contemporary
Content Warning: Suicide
For some reason, I tend not to gravitate toward YA contemporary romance, which is weird, since it’s my go to with adult books. Maybe because I like my romance to be sexy and YA is not, for obvious reasons, but every time I do pick up a YA romance, I love it. So I should probably read more.
Zorie and Lennon are childhood friends (with awesome names) who had a falling out. Zorie thinks the falling out stems from their “experiment”, attempting to see what it would be like to be in a relationship and not just friends. She’s wrong, but Lennon keeps the root of the fall out from her, and the two eventually stop talking, even though they’re neighbors. The two of them end up on a group camping trip with some of the “cool” kids from school, only to later be abandoned by said cool kids in the middle of the wilderness. The two of them have to work together to make their way back to a camp that is miles away. And since they are alone, in the woods, for days, trying to survive, they end up hashing out their problems and figuring out their real issue.
Okay. So this book was adorable and I loved it, except for the minor detail that I am now a parent, and thinking about two teenagers hiking alone through the woods by themselves for days on end gave me some serious anxiety. But, that was really the only thing I didn’t like about this book. I loved Zorie and Lennon, they both felt so authentic and real. I loved their families (Lennon’s moms own a sex shop, yes please representation!), I loved their relationship, I thought all of the issues presented (and there are many) were handled so beautifully. This is a book that, if I were still teaching, would 100% be on my recommended reading list. I just could have done with a little less lost in the woods (also, doesn’t help that I hate camping). But if you want a true to life YA love story, this one most definitely fits the bill!
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars
Comments