Four Three Two One

October 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-The author's latest is an earnest exploration of the emotional debris that trauma leaves in its wake. A year after surviving a deadly bus bombing, Golden "Go" Jennings makes the impulsive decision to rally her three fellow survivors and, together, board an artistic installation of Bus 21, reassembled from the rubble left behind. Though the teens lived through the unimaginable, moving past the guilt and fear they carry is not easy. As they make their way toward New York City to revisit the site of the explosion, they must come face to face with their own truths and secrets about that fateful day. Although the pace of the novel builds slowly, the unhurried development of characters and events makes for a satisfying crescendo. The author writes with depth and emotion, and the characters she creates are relatable, even for readers who have not experienced a trauma as public or as far-reaching as the explosion that sets this particular story into motion. In fact, there are many details to which some teens may not directly relate: Go's childhood on a commune in Kentucky, for example, or the expectations Go's family has that she begin to settle down with her boyfriend at such a young age. Yet within the story, these details feel natural and lend a unique edge to the novel. VERDICT A great choice for most YA shelves.-Lauren Hathaway, University of British Columbia

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2018
Four teenagers whose sense of normalcy shattered when they became the only survivors of a bus bombing in New York City are invited to an artist's re-creation of the damaged vehicle.Golden and Chandler were together on the bus when it exploded. Since the event, a distance has grown between them that is only exacerbated by the invitation. Chan is stoic and craves stability, which he finds in their communal Kentucky home known as the Hive. Golden finds the Hive--and their relationship--stifling. Her thoughts and feelings keep drifting toward Rudy, another survivor who briefly caught her fancy that fateful day before the explosion. When Chandler refuses to attend the art opening, Golden and her uber-confident friend Becky hit the road, with the compass pointing toward Rudy in Florida. There, they also collect Caroline--who is Rudy's cousin, the final survivor, and the girlfriend of the bomber. Caroline cannot stop heaping punishment on herself. What follows is a messy road trip where hearts break, secrets are revealed, burdens are dropped, and each character stumbles closer toward forgiveness. The terrifyingly realistic plot and compelling characters (seemingly all white but diverse in physical abilities--Rudy uses a wheelchair--and sexuality--two girls are in a same-sex relationship) will immediately hook readers' attention even as the dialogue at times meanders into magniloquence.An original and captivating coming-of-age tale of trauma and resilience. (Fiction. 14-18)

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After a promising beginning, narrators Bailey Carr and Erin Spencer skillfully keep this novel on course as it devolves into too many hot-button issues and unrealistic characters and too much unbelievable behavior. Kentuckians Golden "Go" Jennings and her boyfriend, Chandler, travel to New York City to photograph Ellis Island for her grandmother when a bomb explodes on their bus. Carr's diverse tones describe Go's and Chandler's simple lives at their commune, their experience of the vibrant city, and the guilt of being two of only four survivors of the bombing. Her best creation is Go's grandma, who is tough but a wellspring of wisdom. Spencer deftly portrays the deeply troubled and evolving Caroline, the bomber's girlfriend. S.G.B. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

November 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 Before the explosion of Bus 21, Go and Chan were the perfect couple. After, as two of only four survivors, the space between them seems to grow every day. So when an opportunity to return to the site of the explosion and see an art installation based on that moment comes up, Go jumps at the chance. On the way, she's reunited with the remaining two survivors, who are also struggling with secrets and guilt about that day, trying to answer two questions?why did we survive, and what do we do next? Stevens (Dress Codes for Small Towns?, 2017) has written a compelling examination of survivor's guilt and the stories people construct around senseless tragedy to try to make sense of it, including how damaging those created narratives can be. Go is a relatable protagonist whose simultaneous love for her family and need to break free rings true. Though the sporadically shifting perspectives can make the line of the narrative slightly confusing at first, overall it is a gripping story that's both entertaining and deeply moving.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)