The Last Time We Were Us

March 1, 2016
All teens want to be popular in high school...but not all are. Konen combines humor and pathos for a realistic novel about the conflict between peer pressure and personal strength. It's been years since Liz and Jason were best friends. He left her behind when he joined the "in" crowd, before going to juvie for a horrible crime. Now it's Liz's turn to be "in," sitting at the best table, having the most popular girl as her new best friend, and dating the most handsome boy in school. But then Jason returns, and he wants to be friends again. If she says no, she can be in her sister's wedding and keep her friends and new, carefree lifestyle. If she says yes, she loses everything she was so sure she wanted. Everyone is telling her what to do, what to think, and what to be. But it's time for Liz to make her own decisions, regardless of what anyone else thinks. Konen lets Liz's struggle with her conscience play out in the present tense first person, her clear eyes seeing what's behind the veneer of white Southern gentility. She describes alcohol, sex, love, and loss frankly and realistically, though her examination does not extend to a substantive examination of race relations. An easy, intelligent coming-of-age tale. (Romance. 14-18)

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