woensdag 19 juni 2013

Review: Golden - Jessi Kirby

Title: Golden
Author: Jessi Kirby
Publication date: May 14th 2013 
by Simon & Schuster
Add It: Goodreads

Purchase: AmazonBarnes and Noble


Summary 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.


Lady Antebellum - Golden

What I think: This was the first book from Jessi Kirby that I’ve read. I have to say I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. The story is emotional, but not over the top *bawling my eyes out* emotional. Yes, there were a few tears, but I’m just a sucker for these kinds of stories.

It is a great coming of age story, which makes you reflect your own life. How did you become who you are right now? Who remembers all choices, the rights and the wrongs? The idea of writing it all down in a book at the end of your youth and opening it ten years later is wonderful. But it is scary at the same time, what if you don’t like the choices you have made; there is no coming back from them.

"And ten years from now, the lives you've imagined for yourselves will come back to you--in your own words." 

Parker’s life has been how everyone expected her life to be, high grades, (almost) scholarship and no real problems on her way there. When she finds the journal that archives the last few weeks before the tragic deaths of the golden couple of her town, her whole life changes. After reading the journal she and two friends go on a trip to discover what really happened to the couple.

As I said, this book is all about choices. Every choice however small it is, changes something in your future. Parker seems to find this out throughout this book. Parker herself is a perfectionist, or maybe you can better say, her mother is a perfectionist. Parker is so afraid to hurt her mother’s feeling, I don’t really get why, but she tiptoes around her and it’s just kind of annoying. She always does what she has been told and never stands up for herself. But the thing with this book is, you see Parker grow, she gets stronger and stands up for herself. She comes out of her shell a little more with every page.

The other characters in this story are alright, they seem to blend in to each other a bit but on the other hand make this story a good read. Kat is a bit bossy but also funny and doesn’t mean any harm; she tries to help her friend and is with her the whole way. I couldn’t really psych out Trevor; he seems to be a typical player and is also described as one in the beginning. But further on he seems to drastically change (all for the good of course).

Last I want to mention all the beautiful poems in the book. They are what make this book special. I never was a poem fanatic but I can see why these are added to the story. They seem to fill in the blanks that sometimes appear.

This is a definite must read for the summer months, especially the young adult contemporary fans will love it. It has a slight twist of mistery and romance and will keep you hooked till the last page. 

I would like to end with one of the poems by Robert Frost that is mentioned numerous times throughout this book.


“Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire,

I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.”


- Robert Frost

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