Beautiful, burning, dazzling, and golden, Jessi Kirby's latest YA novel will touch readers' hearts.
Super smart Parker Frost has never taken chances. She's set to graduate as valedictorian and on her way to Stanford if she wins the Cruz-Farnetti Scholarship. Best friend Kat is Parker's polar opposite; Kat takes chances and lives for the moment. She doesn't want Parker to leave town, but she knows her friend needs to excel.
When Parker is asked to mail out a box of ten year old journals to students who graduated a decade ago, she makes a shocking discovery. One of the journals belongs to Julianna Farnetti, a girl who was in a tragic car accident with her boyfriend Shane Cruz. Their bodies were never found, but the town mourned their deaths. Now, Parker holds the key to a mystery. Should she give the journal back to Mr. Kinney? Why didn't the police ever find the journal? Should she take it to the police? Or, should Parker take a chance, just this once? Parker decides to read Julianna's journal and then she promises herself that once she's read it, she will return it to Julianna by dropping it in her last known resting place, Summit Lake.
Parker realizes there's a decade old mystery in her small town, and she's bound and determined to find the answers, even if it means exposing the painful past.
Soon Parker enlists the help of Kat and Trevor, the boy she's been crushing on for years. They go in search of a mysterious artist, hoping to mend a lost love. Wouldn't it be great if they could solve the mystery and reunite kindred spirits?
Golden is as addictive as Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Dessen. Readers who loved Moonglass will be addicted to Golden. Beautiful cover art will lure readers in, and Kirby's masterful storytelling will captivate until the very last word.
Highly, highly recommended grade 7-up. No profanity. No sex. Some kisses.
