There are some books that stick with you long after you turn the last page. This is one of those books for me. I know it's YA lit, geared at teen readers, but Weston's writing is fantastic, her protagonist is someone I could relate to and loved, and although the plot wasn't surprising, the way it was all put together was pretty amazing.
Sofia was a normal teenager with a pretty normal life: a mom, dad, and friends at the school she attended. But Sofia's mom dies suddenly, and afterwards, Sofia's life is turned upside down.
Although her dad is doing a great job as a single parent, she still grieves for her mother, and because she is a teenage girl, she could really use a mom to ask questions of. There are lots of things Sofia is curious about.
She starts a correspondence with "Dear Kate" an advice columnist that recently made a visit to Sofia's school, asking her many things she would have asked her mom (and maybe a few things she wouldn't have asked her mom, too, because she was too embarrassed).
As Kate navigates this tricky time, her dad has started dating someone new.
And it won't surprise readers to find out that her dad's new girlfriend is "Dear Kate" herself.
Although this is the main plot of the story, there are so many other important things going on throughout this book. Readers get to see Sofia get a year older - more mature and responsible, and better able to deal with her mom's death. We get to witness her first kiss, first real relationship, move to a new school, navigating becoming a blended family, changing friendships.....this is the true heart of this book.
There is no suspense-filled page turning, but there is great character development, and a story that I wish every teen-age girl would curl up with. I absolutely loved this book. I've read other books by Carol Weston and enjoyed them all. They've been fun and solid middle grade books (the Ava and Pip series and the Melanie Martin series are fantastic). But Speed of Life is so much more.
I wish I would have bookmarked the nuggets of wisdom Weston has expertly crafted into this story, and I dreaded turning the last page and leaving Sofia and her new family and the young woman she was becoming.
Looking for an amazing book to kick of 2018? Pick up Speed of Everything.
2 comments:
Oh, I do like the sound of this one. And, happily, my library has it available for my Kindle. I've just checked it out. Thanks for the rec!
Sounds good! I added it to my tbr list at my library.
Post a Comment