Novel Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2013

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

The Cover:

I really like this cover. I think it's pretty and simple, but eye-catching. I think it represents the book in a good light.

Review:

I can tell why so many love this book. It’s definitely her best yet, and now I can really see the comparison to Sarah Dessen; I felt it in this book.

Parker has always been the good girl, too afraid to do anything to cause trouble, always trying to keep her mother happy, to be a good student. And yet when she finds a journal from a dead girl at her school, a well-known classmate who died with her long boyfriend several years ago, Parker starts taking some risks. It forces her to look at her own life in a new way, see what she really wants and who she really is.

While I didn’t relate to Parker personally, I did understand her, and I liked the journey she took. I really liked the chances she took, and how honest she finally was with herself and her mother. It was what she needed.

The romance was definitely more in the background to the character development of Parker, but I did like it. Trevor was a fun guy, and I was happy when Parker finally was honest with him and went after her feelings.

Overall a really enjoyable book, and I was really happy with the ending for all of the characters. I look forward to reading her next one, as she has really gotten better with each book.