Waiting For You
Grade 7–10—With summer camp over, Marissa and her best friend, Sterling, eagerly await the beginning of sophomore year. Reality kicks in the first day of school though, and, according to Marissa, "it majorly sucks." Sure, Derek is at least smiling at her, but her history of anxiety and depression still haunts her, even though she is determined to put it behind her. Nash, her old friend and next-door neighbor who has not spoken to her in several years, is assigned as her lab partner. She enjoys talking with him but thinks he is much too nerdy for her. As the school year progresses, Derek breaks up with his girlfriend and he and Marissa begin to date. Everything is going well until she realizes that Nash has fallen for her, her parents are splitting up because her mother has had an affair, Derek and his ex are spending a lot of time together, Sterling is about to hook up with a guy she met online who is at least six years older than she is, and her depression is returning. Marissa can become a bit tiresome and the story's pacing is uneven—parts of it seem to go on forever—but the teen and her friends are realistic as they struggle to make sense of high school, romance, and families and as they realize that not one of them has a perfect life and that they all need each other's friendship and love.—Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, DentonCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.