cover image Golden

Golden

Jessi Kirby. Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-4424-5216-9

In the last weeks of her senior year, buttoned-up valedictorian Parker Frost promises her adventurous best friend Kat that she will do something “Unexpected, worthwhile, and big” for once. While Kat was thinking of something along the lines of Parker hooking up with her longtime crush, another opportunity falls into Parker’s lap: she comes across the journal of “girl-turned-myth” Julianna Farnetti, a former homecoming queen presumed dead after a car crash with her boyfriend 10 years ago. Parker’s decision to read Julianna’s private thoughts and visit some of the sites mentioned in the journal causes Parker to consider that people aren’t always who they seem and that her own tendency toward obedience could have devastating effects on her future. Not unlike the snippets of Robert Frost poems that open each chapter and appear throughout, Kirby’s (In Honor) third novel is inspirational and contemplative in its mood and tone. Multifaceted characters and dashes of mystery and romance come together in a successful meditation on the value of taking an active role in one’s life. Ages 12–up. Agent: Leigh Feldman, Writers House. (May)