Summary:Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey.
But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.
After hearing such amazing things about this book (Kyra!), I finally decided to pick it up myself. My first impression was how beautiful the cover was. I borrowed the edition with the pictures on the inside and I am so glad that I read this one as I can't imagine reading it in any other format. I really need to buy myself my own copy, as it would be a welcome addition to my bookshelf!
I really liked Lennie as a main character. I keep finding that many main character have similar traits and this bugs me a little as I can't separate them, but Lennie was a unique individual and I really enjoyed reading about her. It was evident right from the start that she was deeply troubled. I just wanted to give her a hug! She did irritate me on occasion, but from what I can remember, I soon forgot about it.
Now, let us move on to these TWO love interests. TWO! I really liked Joe as he could have had any girl he wanted. Yet, he chose the one girl who needed someone and I think he is very noble for that. And, he is one hot person!The other love interest, Toby, didn't really have that 'thing' that Joe possessed. I found him annoying and, although I could see reasons behind his actions, I didn't like him as much as I expected.
I really liked the fact that I felt like I knew Bailey, even though there weren't scenes when she was alive, only retellings of stories that featured her. Is it crazy that I loved her as a character?!
The main plot was a really great idea. I'm really enjoying reading contemporary at the moment because nearly every plot is unique. And contemporaries have great romance! I loved the addition of the poems and little notes at the start of each chapter. It meant that we got to see an added depth to the plot line that would have been lost if they hadn't been included.
I really enjoyed reading this and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves contemporary fiction, or just wants to try something a little different. And of course, if you are a fan of romance then this book will be right up your street!
RATING: 4/5 stars
