I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Golden by Jessi Kirby 
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.
This was such a beautiful read! I literally had goosebumps when I turned the last page. It’s one of those all encompassing stories that leaves you to ponder your own past experiences, your own hopes and dreams – past, present, and future.
Do you often read back through your diaries or journals and reminisce on your high school days? In Golden, one teacher gives all his students just that opportunity. The class assignment is to fill a journal with everything you’re hoping for yourself, then in 10 years this journal is sent back to you. I loved this idea – almost wishing we had this teacher at our school. It had me both wondering and cringing at what I would have written in there myself. Golden combines a coming-of-age story with a decade old mystery that link together when Parker Frost comes upon the journal of a girl who has gone missing – presumed dead – since Parker was 7 years old. Despite her guilt, Parker reads it and discovers things about the iconic couple that broke every mold she’d ever built for them. While we discover the mysteries of Julianna’s life inside her journal, Parker is learning how precious life really is, how quickly things can change, and how taking chances is sometimes what one needs to figure out who they are, and where they’re meant to end up. And even if you fail, at least you took a chance at something you wanted!
Golden is the kind of book that I had to force myself to put aside or I would have skipped work and meals to finish it. Even though the basis of this plot is a tragedy, this is an inspiring story filled with dreams, passion, friendship, and love. We see Parker grow as a person, with a love story of her own that she’s finally giving notice to. We also get an amazing best friend, a road trip, a realistic family unit, senior year pressures, and a girl who’s learning to live for herself.
The writing is what brings all of this together in a tragic, yet hopeful way. Both Parker and Julianna’s stories had me fully compelled. Their voices so real, so raw, so poignant that I knew they were leaving lasting impressions. Golden is a contemporary novel that I think everyone should read. It’s powerfully inspiring and dares you to live, to take chances – to just go for it!
5 Hot Espressos
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
My pick this week:
This is the same author who wrote Charm and Strange that I really enjoyed earlier to year so I’m excited that she’s got a new book coming out. It sounds dark and creepy – you know me, right? 😀
What are you waiting on, this week?
To be perfectly honest, by the time I read this book I had completely forgotten what it was about. I thought it was a book about the end of the world – and okay in a way it is, but very different from what I had envisioned. Nevertheless, it’s a solid story in a lot of ways, and with 400+ pages it could have become an intensely powerful, in-depth read, but instead it felt overcrowded at times with topics like rape, mental illness, and ex best-friend drama (as well as ex-boyfriend) that felt rather directionless. On the other hand, it does offer a slightly different perspective on alternate dimensions, or at least it worked on delivering it in a highly suspenseful way.
The main reason why I wasn’t able…
Isaiah has been a favorite character of mine since book 1. He’s got a badass look but the kindest heart and most gentle soul. Crash Into You, written in his POV, made me adore him even more. We get to see what’s going on in that hard-to-crack head of his. Having had a difficult childhood in the foster care system, he’s developed a rough edge, but to give a big eff you to stereotypes he’s positively one of the most generous and loyal person I know (yes I have met him in real life – be jealous! >.
I know I’m in the minority here but I think all the 5 stars gave me too-high expectations for this one. It is very close to a 4 star read so I’m far from hating it but, I expected more – or at least different.
I can understand why so many love it though. Suddenly waking up with no memory of the last 6 months is a very terrifying premise. One that had me completely stupefied, and thus absolutely engrossed. Chloe’s narrative is written with all the disorientation, annoyance, and anxiety of someone who may or may not be going crazy. As you can expect no one believes the “nonsense” she seems to be spouting. She’s an easy to like character with a fierce determination to get to the…
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
My pick this week:
This sounds so up my alley it’s not even funny! It sounds like it’s being told from the ghost’s point of view (unless there’s a twist :D). Plus it’s Jodi Lynn Anderson! I haven’t read anything by her yet but she’s highly praised.
What are you waiting on?
For the 82323234287637’s book in its genre this year alone, Pawn was surprisingly original with a refreshing triangle-free minimalist romance and a plot that had tons happening throughout, not just anticipation for the ending. As my first Aimee Carter book I can’t tell you how it compares to her Goddess Test series, but I was impressed with this one for sure.
The world building, at first, sounds like your average dystopian. Society is divided by numbers given to you after a big test on your 17th birthday. If you get a 5 or over, you live a rich life, if you get a 2 or a 3… well at least you didn’t get a 1 and get sent to Elsewhere. The originality of it all comes after Kitty gets…
Oh my word this was weird. Like, disturbingly weird. Talking minister cat/squirrel/dog, deadly fog, walking corpses and all! Fortunately it was the kind of weird that was so weird it was creepy. Unfortunately, the weird turned into the religious which is almost always a complete turn-off for me.
In simple terms, this story is about the end of the world. We don’t understand exactly what’s going on at first. Everything is kept very cryptic with a constant ominous vibe. Little by little we learn about the earth’s condition, about what happened to bring it to this point including bizarre happenings that makes us wonder just how crazy it all is. The creepy definitely was my favorite part of this novel. When their dead mother’s corpse started walking about, it…
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