Novel Ink: Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 288

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books

Publication Date: May 14, 2013

Goodreads Link: HERE

Buy this Book: Amazon

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

My Thoughts:

This is the second book that I've read by Jessi Kirby, I read and loved In Honor last year (My Review) so I was really excited to get started reading Golden since I was sure that I would enjoy it but I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did.

Parker Frost does not like to step out of her comfort zone, she doesn't talk back to her mother who puts way to much pressure on her, she doesn't skip out on classes with her best friend and she doesn't let the boy she's been crushing on since 7th grade know how she feels. So, when Parker comes across a journal written by Julianna, the town legend who died along with her boyfriend Shane ten years ago, she completely surprises herself when instead of turning it in, she slips it into her backpack to read.

It turns out that the words that Julianna wrote so long ago isn't what Parker was expecting. Instead of the Romeo and Juliet love story that she had anticipated reading about we get read about a side of Julianna that no one knew about. The journal was the best thing that could have happened to Parker, it made her step back and examine what she wanted in her life, not what her mother wanted for her.

The characters in this book are so well written, I instantly felt a connection with Parker as well as Julianna, even though we only got to know her through her journal entries. Kat was amazing, I loved that she pushed Parker to step out of her comfort zone and do something unexpected and Trevor was so sweet, I could tell how much he cared about Parker.

Golden is a breathtaking coming of age book that I would recommend to anyone. It's one of the best books that I have read so far this year and I can honestly say that I won't hesitate to pick up a book with the name Jessi Kirby on it.

Favorite Quotes:

"My favorite part of any love story is the beginning." (Pg 85)

"What I didn't realize all that time, what I missed all along, is that chance is everywhere. It's also what life is made of." (Pg 263)