The Start of Me and You

January 5, 2015
Last year, Paige Hancock’s boyfriend died, and although she and Aaron had only dated for a short time, everyone still thinks of her as “the Girl Whose Boyfriend Drowned.” As Paige begins her junior year of high school, she is ready to move on, romantically speaking, and she makes a list of all the things that will help her start over—including dating Ryan Chase, “my ultimate, since-middle-school pipe dream of a crush.” Then Paige surprises herself and joins the school’s competitive quiz game team, where she gets to know Ryan’s cousin Max. Soon, she is falling hard for Max while trying to convince herself she’s better off with Ryan. Lord (Open Road Summer) offers a sweet story of love and loss (in addition to Aaron’s increasingly distant demise, Paige is facing the imminent death of her ailing grandmother). The author is gentle with Paige as she struggles to redefine herself both in school and at home, as well as figure out who understands her best as she stumbles toward new romance. Ages 12–up. Agent: Taylor Martindale, Full Circle Literary.

December 15, 2014
Life doesn't have to be defined by death, but try telling that to sympathetic strangers.In the year after Paige's boyfriend dies in a freak drowning accident, she gets a lot of kind looks from people who feel sorry for her. After a while, that's not what she needs. She needs to get over her boyfriend's death and move on, but that's not easy. Her grandmother, Paige's champion and confidante, has Alzheimer's disease. Her divorced parents make an uncomfortable situation even stranger by revealing a bizarre secret. But as long as Paige has her friends, things are OK. When she becomes close to a few new people, even better. And when one of those new people seems like something more than a friend, great! Lord delivers teenage characters in full bloom who love hard, fall hard, cry hard and remain ferociously committed to one another. She taps into a very specific human drive-the need to be recognized and appreciated for one's own talents-and provides an engaging backdrop of high school life. Occasionally, her characters come across the page a tad too emotionally developed, but distinct prose-"Max was the first bite of grilled cheese on a snowy day, the easy fit of my favorite jeans"-keeps them easy to relate to. A sweet story about forging an identity beyond tragedy. (Fiction. 12-18)

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Starred review from December 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Aspiring screenwriter Paige Hancock is determined to redefine herself one year after her boyfriend, Aaron, drowned. Paige creates a checklist of tasks that she intends to accomplish during her junior year to finally shake off the label of "the girl whose boyfriend drowned" in small-town Oakhurst, Indiana. With the support of a solid core of best friends, Paige succeeds in her "plan to become normal again." The crew also helps her recover from the devastating loss of her beloved and supportive grandmother and to cope with her divorced parents dating each other. She also finds a budding romance in an unexpected place-with Max Watson, nerdy cousin of heartthrob Ryan Chase. The positive and healthy relationships in the novel-between Paige and her friends, Paige and her parents, and Paige and Max-provide subtle modeling for young adults, while still remaining believable and not coming off as preachy. In sharp contrast to darker, more issue-driven YA books, this title keeps truer to the problems that most teens face. The protagonist's upbeat attitude will inspire readers to persevere even during the low points in life.-Nicole Knott, Watertown High School, CT

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