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Summary
Summary
At the start of her senior year in high school, Sara wants two things: to get into a top college and to find true love.Tobey also wants two things for his senior year: to win Battle of the Bands and to make Sara fall in love with him. However, a popular jock named Dave moves in on Sara first. But Tobey's quirky wit and big blue eyes are hard for Sara to ignore. Plus, he gets the little things that matter to her. Can a slacker rock-star wannabe win the heart of a pretty class brain like Sara?
Hilariously and movingly told through Tobey and Sara's authentic voices, Susane Colasanti's debut novel sizzles in its portrayal of two young people searching for The One.
Author Notes
Susane Colasanti is the author of When It Happens, Take Me There, and Waiting for You . She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author, Susane was a high school Physics and Earth Science teacher for almost ten years. She lives in New York City.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Sara is thrilled when her crush, Dave, finally asks her out. But dating Dave isn't nearly as amazing as she imagined it would be. Sara is looking for true love, and Dave only wants to relieve Sara of her virginity. Also, she is beginning to feel a connection with her music theory partner, Tobey, who couldn't be more different from the studious, goal-oriented Sara. There's undeniable chemistry between them and they get together. But different goals and ghosts of relationships past threaten the pair. Both of them learn that even the best relationships involve hard work, openness, and compromise. Listeners will cheer for them from the beginning. Susane Colasanti's brilliantly written story (Viking, 2006) is told from Sara and Tobey's alternating points of view. All the characters are exceptionally well-developed. For the most part, narrators Julia Whelan and Alexander Cendese provide believable narration, although Cendese has a distracting tendency to overact. Despite a sprinkling of outdated technological and pop culture references, teens will relate to the basic story elements. Some language and mature content may make this inappropriate for younger teens. Deeply romantic details bring to mind the writings of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han's "Summer" trilogy.-Alissa LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Colasanti's sweet debut, an unlikely pair of high school seniors fall for each other, and learn to handle the ups and downs that come with love. At the start of the book, overachiever Sara starts dating popular Dave, mainly because "after being a nobody for so long, it feels awesome to be a somebody." But when she gets paired up with smart slacker musician Tobey, they instantly connect and Sara realizes true love is "finally happening." Told through the couple's alternating perspectives, the story realistically captures the thrill of first love (Sara realizes that "When I'm with Tobey, an hour seems like a second"). After finding each other, Sara and Tobey must deal with jealous exes as well as their futures (Tobey learns to study, hoping to go to the Manhattan Music Academy and be near Sara at NYU). Readers may find the plot somewhat thin, and secondary story lines remain underdeveloped (e.g., Sara's strained relationship with her mother, who was 16 when Sara was born; her friend Maggie's struggles to deal with her parents' divorce). But the book emulates the feeling that everything but the budding romance slips to the background. Even the delectably hokey scene in which Tobey wins Sara back by standing under her window, holding up his boom box over his head (like John Cusack in her favorite scene from Say Anything) is sure to make readers smile. Ages 12-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Sara is practicing creative visualization to achieve her goals during senior year; Tobey is practicing in his garage band. Sara imagines her ideal boyfriend as the popular Dave; Tobey considers giving up his slacker ways to win over Sara. In alternating voices, the teens realize that meaningless hook-ups leave them wanting "something real," which they find in each other. Although they seem to be soul mates, Sara and Tobey must overcome jealousy, lies and past sexual encounters with a maturity (and a nod to a popular '80s movie) well beyond most adolescents. Helping them along the way are sympathetic teachers, parents and friends. Realistic dialogue, multi-layered characters, musical references and issues that matter most to teens make this story happen. Like Sarah Dessen, Colasanti knows how teens operate. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 9-12. Told from the alternating perspectives of its two main characters, both seniors in high school, this story owes much to (and occasionally references) the 1989 teen romance film Say Anything. To brainy and beautiful Sara, Tobey is nothing more than a slacker band guy with no future prospects. This is unfortunate for Tobey, who has dedicated himself to winning her affections--a special challenge given the presence of Dave, Sara's stereotypically gorgeous, popular, and (of course) rotten boyfriend. It's a well-known and well-loved construct; unfortunately, Sara is not quite as likable as readers might wish, given her rigidity and often unkind behavior. Tobey's appeal is real, but is spoiled by occasionally loutish sexual thoughts (fantasies involve his headboard . . . bumping against the wall ) and by the ease with which he discards his worldview to impress his crush. Unlike Say Anything, this love story doesn't come together, but the premise will inevitably draw a crowd, and there is real charm in the vibrant supporting characters and their authentic, humorous dialogue. --Holly Koelling Copyright 2006 Booklist
