Sixteen-year-old Seth begins a new year of high school, wracked with guilt over his best friend Isaac’s death during the summer and suffering from stage fright that gets in the way of performing comfortably with his band. In addition, he feels pressure to keep Isaac’s free-spirited former girlfriend at arm’s length while he grows interested in a new girl, who seems out of his league. In a story stocked with full and credible characters, Scott portrays a convincing contemporary world of a teen who is smart but inexperienced, and talented yet uncertain of himself. Class dynamics are cogently communicated through the various characters’ interactions as well as in Seth’s own observations. This is a realistic novel with compelling issues depicted as they are in life—intertwined with one another yet broachable when addressed one at a time rather than relying on any deus ex machina to resolve things in the end. With this first novel, Scott proves herself a formidable talent in the field of YA fiction. Grades 9-12. --Francisca Goldsmith
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