Shuffle, Repeat

February 15, 2016
June thinks high school is merely a stopgap between childhood and real life until she starts carpooling with the star jock. June is a snob. She believes that her alt musical choices and AP classes mean she doesn't have to engage with the rest of the high school herd. She starts riding to school her senior year with Oliver, whose exuberance for socializing, athleticism, and pop music allows June to rest easy in the notion that he's a simple "jock-hole." However, "I care about every single minute, because I know that everything here does matter," Oliver says, and he begins a wager that he can expose examples of meaning, while June's task is to highlight meaninglessness. The winner gets to pick songs for the ride-to-school playlist. In present-tense first person, June describes how, in a succession of mornings, they get to know each other better and how Oliver keeps shocking her with his sensitivity and vast vocabulary. True to genre form, June and Oliver haltingly fall for each other and learn that there's more to a person than meets the eye. Klein paints a realistic portrait of modern teen life, including divorced parents, gossip, sex, and drinking. Beneath June's veneer of cynicism, though, is a hopeful vision of youths who are nervous and excited about starting adult life. It's a predictable romance about two smart white teens, but it's an entertaining and even touching one. (Romance. 12-18)

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April 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-June and Oliver are complete opposites. Oliver is reveling in his glory days of high school and enjoying football and senior year traditions. June is just trying to get through to graduation. To her, real life starts after high school. Since their mothers are friends, Oliver has been drafted to give June a ride to school every morning. At first things are awkward, but as the days go on, they begin to joke and make bets and become friends, or maybe more, despite the fact that neither is single. Plenty of details make this title a realistic portrayal of today's high school scene, including drinking and sex, but nothing is gratuitous or graphic. Excerpts from prom night (near the end of the book) sprinkled throughout the narrative provide just the right amount of foreshadowing, and the story quickly becomes addictive. Fans of Deb Caletti and Sarah Dessen will enjoy this sweet romance. VERDICT A perfect choice for those seeking more YA romance.-Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ

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