Time of Our Lives

February 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Fitz Holton and Juniper Ramirez cross paths while touring colleges, though they have different goals in mind. Fitz would like to stay home and care for his ailing mother, who is encouraging him to get out and experience college, while Juniper is ready to get out of the house where she lives with her five siblings. Juniper heads out with her boyfriend Matt on visits, but once Fitz gets the courage to approach her, Juniper realizes that maybe she and Matt are not meant to be and will continue on different paths after high school. Told in alternating perspectives between Juniper and Fitz, the book takes readers on an adventure touring college campuses in a variety of cities, immersing them in the lives of these young travelers. Juniper is independent and strong-willed, while Fitz is unsure but interested in getting to know her. The advanced vocabulary used by Fitz adds to his wise personality. Readers will get both a lesson in vocabulary and on fate-as well as a reminder not to work against the time we are given. VERDICT A romance that is sure to entertain and enlighten high school readers.-Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2020
When two very different teens meet on a college road trip, sparks begin to fly. Exhausted by the needs of her family, Juniper Ramírez can't wait for the freedom of college. When she sets off to tour colleges with her boyfriend, Matt, it feels like her future is beginning. Fitz Holton, terrified by his mother's genetic predisposition to early-onset Alzheimer's, long ago decided to attend a local college so he can care for her if and when she needs additional support. When Fitz's mother forces him to go on a college tour with his brother, Lewis--who was adopted from India (Fitz was adopted from Arkansas)--it feels like torture. When Fitz and Juniper cross paths after an information session at Boston University, their feelings about their families change as they fall for one another and consider the possibility of a shared future. Their connection takes them both by surprise, creating a romance that simmers at a slow burn. Juniper's character is well drawn, and her struggle with balancing her ambition with her familial responsibilities is both complex and authentic. Fitz, however, is less believable: His anger toward his brother feels forced and manufactured, and his bitterness about his brother's decision to connect with his birth family and their home culture reinforces tropes used to deny adoptees access to their personal histories. Fitz is cued as white; Juniper is Mexican American. A cleverly plotted teen romance with a problematic protagonist. (Romance. 14-18)

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