The Story of Us
*Starred Review* Caletti’s latest Pacific Northwest romance is a stunner, with depth and ambiguity that respects and challenges the reader. Recent high-school graduate Cricket is at a crossroads in so many areas of her life: she can’t decide which college to attend; she has pushed away her adoring, long-term boyfriend, Janssen; the beloved family dog is clearly on her last legs; and her notorious “runaway bride” mother has found a terrific guy, Dan, and is getting married and moving out of the family home. Set over the course of the wedding week at an inn on the coast, the plot swirls to a heady, comedic climax while letters from Cricket to Janssen provide backstory. Among the wedding guests are Dan’s two spoiled, possessive teen daughters from a previous marriage, two sets of sparring grandparents, and the incredibly attractive Ash, a local boy who flirts nonstop with Cricket. Like many of Caletti’s protagonists, Cricket is a tremendously sympathetic Everygirl coping with issues of abandonment and trust. The tone of her narrative swings between wry accounts of comic wedding mishaps and heartbreaking meditations on the nature of love and loss: “Love, deep and endless and brave in the face of certain loss—through death and leavings and growing up and letting go.” One of Caletti’s best, this is a title to reread and savor.      HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A multistate author tour and plenty of promotional backing will ensure this book garners attention even beyond Caletti’s sizable fan base. Grades 8-12. --Debbie Carton