9 Days and 9 Nights

March 1, 2018
After the unfortunate events of 99 Days (2015), Molly Barlow has spent the past year molding herself into someone she thinks other people will like.Now it's the summer before her sophomore year at Boston University, and she's spending nine days in Europe with Ian, her boyfriend of five months. Things are going well: Bookish Ian is funny and sweet and has just told Molly he loves her (in the Tower of London, of all places). It's the perfect holiday! Then, there he is, on a platform on the Underground--Gabe, Molly's ex-boyfriend. Unfortunately for Molly, mega-extrovert Ian does the worst thing possible: He invites Gabe and his girlfriend to travel with them. Molly, who used to be more impulsive, has been trying to erase that part of herself--the part that got her into so much trouble back home--by carefully scheduling every moment of the trip. However, as old emotions bubble to the surface and she tries to ignore her lingering feelings for Gabe, Molly will have to learn that in order to be her best self, she doesn't have to erase who she really is. With the exception of Molly's brown-skinned college roommate (who appears briefly in flashbacks), everyone appears to be white.For fans of the previous book who want to know whether Molly finds happiness. (Fiction. 13-adult)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-This follow-up to 99 Days is the continuation of Molly Barlow's relationship saga. Picking up after her freshman year in college, this is an engaging novel that does not entirely stand alone. Molly has spent much of the past year with Ian, who has helped her to become a calmer, more stable version of herself. Now she and Ian are off on a romantic vacation together. While exploring London, they run into Molly's ex, Gabe, and his new girlfriend. Gabe is the reason for Molly's fractured relationship with her hometown, the reason for her heartache, and the reason for the abortion she had at the beginning of the school year. When Ian invites Gabe and Sadie to join them for their trip to Ireland, Molly and Gabe find themselves thrown together and trying to keep their past a secret. Cotugno admirably fills readers in on the events of the previous novel without simply providing a synopsis in chapter one, but teens who have read 99 Days will likely be more satisfied than those who are not familiar with the complex relationships among Molly, Gabe, and his family. Some humor makes the serious topics more easily digested. VERDICT With realistic depictions of complicated, imperfect personalities, this book will be enjoyed by fans of Cotugno's previous novels and by readers of Sarah Dessen and E. Lockhart.-Karen Brooks, Gig Harbor Pierce County Library, WA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.