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Edie Price hasn’t been to Mansfield, Massachusetts, for seven years, when her mother vowed never to return because of a falling-out with her sister. Now, however, here she is, because her mother died a few years ago and her wealthy aunt and uncle have decided (deigned) to take her in for a few months before she graduates high school. Her aunt sees her as her newest charity case. Her two cousins aren’t too bad, but they have little in common. Edie just has to survive the end of the school year and work hard on scholarship applications so she can go to college.
She thinks it would be best to avoid boys and not get distracted, but one pops into her life immediately: Sebastian, the next-door neighbor she was best friends with as a child. They even shared their first kiss when they were 10. Just seeing him and reminiscing about those times years before makes the butterflies dance around in her stomach. But then Edie finds out Sebastian has a girlfriend — and she is rich, gorgeous, popular and everything Edie is not.
Then there’s Henry, who is completely comfortable with his role and reputation as the local bad boy. He’s rich and hot and really gets around. When he meets Edie, he tells her he’s interested, but she is not about to get involved with a player like him, even if he’s a good kisser, even if she can’t have Sebastian.
This debut novel is heftier than a standard cute YA romance: Edie is dealing with family issues, grief over the loss of her mother, and regret over an incident right before she came to Mansfield that’s left her best friend angry with her, and she is trying to navigate serious choices about relationships at a crucial point in young adulthood. Her father left when she was a baby, so her mother had warned her about falling in love and making certain choices. Her heart is calling her toward Sebastian, the only person she feels a real connection to in Mansfield, who accepts her as she is. But she doesn’t want to be the kind of person who would ruin his relationship. Henry continues to pursue Edie, but she definitely doesn’t want to just be the latest in a string of casual conquests. Then when Henry sticks around and shows more depth than she’d expected and a true interest in her as a person, Edie begins to think about giving him a chance. But then she has to consider who she wants to have her first real kiss with — and if she’ll have a sexual relationship.
Through all of it, Edie is mature in how she considers her role in things that happen: She could easily blame others for the cruel things they do, but several times she takes the impressive step of examining herself for the role she played in difficult situations — with Sebastian and his girlfriend, with her best friend, with Henry. It’s impressive to see how these things play out and how Edie tries to thoughtfully make decisions that will be the best for her and those close to her even as she is surrounded by a lot of people being fairly reckless.
Rated: Moderate, for 3 instances of strong language and occasional uses of mild and moderate language. Sex is a regular part of the story, with characters talking about sex and making out, with a number of references that couples are having sex “off-screen,” and to the “bad boy” having a big stash of condoms. There are some intense kissing scenes, and one scene where the main character is kissing and going further with a young man (in moderate detail about roving hands) but stops before actually having sex. Characters cheat on their partners. It’s not a book I personally would want a younger teen to read; themes are more appropriate for those of the same age group of around 17-20.
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