Tonight the Streets Are Ours

July 6, 2015
As a child, Arden gave away a Disney World trip to Lindsey, a friend whose family was down on its luck, leading an American Girl–esque company to make Arden its Girl of the Year and launch a lookalike doll it described as “recklessly loyal.” Now in high school, Arden is getting tired of writing “blank check” of support to loved ones and not getting the same in return. After Arden discovers a blog written by a 17-year-old romantic named Peter, she quickly grows immersed in Peter’s world, eventually driving to New York City with Lindsey to find him. Peter’s blog entries are intermixed with Arden’s story, making it easy to understand why she is drawn to him; from there, Sales (This Song Will Save Your Life) takes her story on surprising turns as Arden learns what it really means to love someone. Not all of the interactions feel realistic (Arden’s heart-to-heart with Peter’s on-again, off-again love, Bianca, seems unlikely for teens who just met), but it’s easy to get caught up in Arden’s exhilaration as she starts living life on her own terms. Ages 12–up. Agent: Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Management.

July 1, 2015
"Recklessly loyal" Arden learns that there is such a thing as too much giving. Some people, Arden's mom says, are gardeners, and some people are flowers. Hapless, impulsive Lindsey has been the flower to Arden's gardener since the two met as children. Left to her own devices, Lindsey gets into trouble by stashing drugs in Arden's locker or by provoking the ire of the popular crowd when she asks out a girl who turns out to be straight. (It's too bad these two acts are so neatly equated.) Arden's mother, also a gardener, has left the family abruptly for New York, and Arden is left picking up her oblivious father's slack. Frustrated one night, Arden types a query into an Internet search box-"Why doesn't anybody love me as much as I love them?"-and finds herself captivated by a blog that pops up as a result. It's never fully clear what about Tonight the Streets Are Ours or its wealthy, NYC-dwelling, 17-year-old author, Peter, appeals so strongly to Arden, but the story of Peter's tumultuous romance with a girl named Bianca provides an escape from Arden's increasingly exhausting obligations. The prose is crisp and full of subtle, comic detail, and the girls' climactic trip to New York provides an epic resolution. Despite occasional predictable or contrived moments, Arden's tale is insightful throughout. (Fiction. 12-18)

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August 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-The author taps into the anxiety, insecurity, and hurt that people experience when they think that they are giving more love than they receive. Arden Huntley's naive understanding of relationships partially comes from her mother, who taught her in word and by example that one person always takes care of the other as a gardener nurtures flowers. Arden fully believes this theory and has built an identity around it: she is "recklessly loyal." She reaches a breaking point when she starts to feel that her love and support are underappreciated, especially by her boyfriend and her best friend. Seeking solace online, Arden discovers "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," a blog written by a guy named Peter in New York City. The teen not only finds comfort in Peter's writing, but begins to feel invested in his life and happiness. Sales understands the intense bond that readers can have with bloggers and she uses this to propel Arden into a transformative road trip to find Peter. Some readers, particularly those touched by adoption, may find themselves taken out of the story when they are introduced to a character with an unusual backstory: a white boy who was adopted by Asian American parents. However, there's no acknowledgement of how unique and against expectations it is. It's unclear how this creative decision serves the plot or characters and given that it occurs during a pivotal moment in the book, it's worth noting. VERDICT Teens who enjoy books about the balance of friendship with individual identity formation will find much to think about in this novel.-Joy Piedmont, LREI, New York City

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