Review: fast paced, easy read, transported me back in time!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 12, 2013
The Journals of Kara and Jason transported me to a time and place few books do - my childhood and teens.The book begins with Kara writing in her journal.  She's just started 8th grade and, as far as she is concerned, her life pretty much sucks.  Her former best friend won't talk to her anymore, when they had previously spent hour on end talking, sharing secrets and dreaming together.  Could things get any worse?  Then she sees another kid, in a t-shirt few have worn since the early '90s, being picked on by some other kids.  Since she's already in a bad mood, she turns on the bullies and gets them to leave the guy alone.Jason is new at the school, and is loving the experience!  He's an exchange student, and is enjoying life to the fullest!  New foods, new people, new places - he thinks life couldn't get any better!  For him, 8th grade is the cat's pajamas!  After all, the kids picking on him - they were having fun!  Why should he disappoint them?  Then, a pretty girl comes up and sends them away.  According to his journal, he is looking forward to a great time in this town.Soon, Kara and Jason become best friends.  They talk and text until all hours of the night, go shopping together, etc.  Jason's host parents help him to understand the nature of his relationship with Kara since his feeling for her are so foreign to him.  Then Kara suggests they go to the zoo...  Jason, who said he is from Iceland, is horrified when Kara suggests they go to the zoo.  Confused, Kara manages to drag him there to show him that the animals are not going to eat them.  Surely they have zoo's where he's from...right?  Jason has the experience of his life, and finds himself kissing Kara as they go to leave!  Wait...what?  Where did that come from!  Both of them are embarrassed, but neither are willing to let it disrupt their friendship.Suddenly, Jason is informed by his exchange program that he is getting too close to Kara and must cease all contact with her...or he will be removed from the program.And that is when things get very interesting - not to mention, heart wrenching!  Oh, and then there is a twist that most people will NEVER see coming.I was sent a copy of this novel by the author in exchange for an honest review.  And, to be honest, I find myself having a very difficult time deciding how many stars I would rate it at!  For me, so many memories surfaced!  Unlike 99% of the people who may read this book, I actually grew up with exchange students.  From when I was 4 years old until I was a junior in high school, we had 7 of them live with us. So, on many levels, I could relate to both Kara and Jason!  I also found myself setting the book down and going for a ride down memory lane.  I pictured myself walking down the halls in middle-school (or, junior-high as we called it) between the lockers.  I remember Don, whose locker was beside mine, getting locked inside his locker on the last day of school because he climbed inside to clean it and Brian, whose locker was on the other side of Don's, bumped the door and it closed, locking Don inside.  I remember the cliques, I remember the lunch room, the football games - I remember it all.  I also remember sharing things with the exchange students - even those who did not live with us - like foods they do not have in their countries, places I love to visit, etc.  (By the time I was 12, I had lost track of the number of time I have seen Mount Rushmore!)  Having lived with so many, I naturally befriended those in the school.But, I digress.  I really enjoyed the book!  Charlie perfectly captured the essence of life of an 8th grade girl and wrote her journal in a way an 8th grade girl would.  I personally HAVE my journal from 8th grade, and found myself going back and looking at it.  Something I have not done in, well, a couple of decades.