YA New York

I haven’t even finished reading this book. Indeed, I am on page 277 out of 320. But I have to tell you about it. It’s urgent. Finishing the book can wait, because you need to know that Susane’s latest novel rocks.

It’s funny; I’ve been having this weird quandary about what my first post back should be. What book was I to review first? There have been so many good ones I can’t wait to tell you about: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner, Cybermage by Alma Alexander, Gentlemen by Michael Northrop. Yesterday I read Initiation by Susan Fine, and it was pretty awesome. Indeed, I have a list of about twenty books I must tell you about.

But see, Waiting for You sucker-punched me. Because it’s about depression and anxiety, both of which I’ve grappled with for a very long time. And the book doesn’t treat these illnesses lightly. As a reader, you get to see how depression can take hold of a gal and drag her down. You also see how she can get back up, again and over again, in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Basic plot: Marisa is starting her sophomore year with that time-honored vow to reinvent her life. Last year she was a basketcase, or at least people thought she was one because she was so depressed and anxious and not talking about any of it. This year, so far, she’s doing better. Except that she doesn’t have a boyfriend. As time passes and pages turn, we get to see what happens over the course of the school year. Short answer? A lot.

Of course I have quibbles with Waiting for You. Like, there are way too many John Mayer references. (In my mind, one John Mayer reference is too many. But Susane really likes his music, which is a perfectly … err … valid acceptable opinion to hold.)

But what’s most important here is not John Mayer. It’s that I’m not even done reading this book, and even though I’m right at the part where everything is tragic — because that’s how books work — I’ve paused my reading to tell you to get yourself to a bookstore. Now. Right now. Immediately.

If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go finish reading now.

Much love,
brina

Tags: susane colasanti

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.