Someone You Loved by Robin Constantine (2023)
BQ can already imagine the thousands of eager readers who'll gravitate to this book with just one glance at its striking cover, featuring two teens with a decided resemblance to....well, no one will have any trouble guessing. who.....
And they'll be in for an even nicer extra bonus.......the book inside between the covers....
What I loved most about "Someone You Loved"......for a refreshing change, it offers a sweet, poignant teen romance without an excess of plot baggage that might threaten to bog down its forward momentum.
The tragic accidental death of Alex a much beloved high school basketball star, leaves a cloud of grief over the community......and most of all, those closest to him who loved him dearly. Those deeply grieving for Alex include his younger sister Ash, Sarah, his girlfriend who's also Ash's best friend and Jake, Alex's best friend and fellow teammate.
Even more conflicting feelings run through these three well drawn characters. The stricken Ash can't even look at Jake because she resents and blames him for her brother's death, since he was there when it happened. Sarah, whose romance with Alex was brief but fiercely intense, can hardly deal with her sense of crushing loss while consoling Ash. And Jake, guilt-wracked and uncomfortable in replacing Alex as the team's captain and guiding light, also contends with his lifelong crush on Sarah. He's held an unrealized love for her long before she ever became Alex's girl.
From that primal, basic set-up, you can easily see there this is going. Connecting in their shared grief and thrown together to plan a fundraising event in Alex's memory, Jake and Sarah.......well do I really need to say more than simply.....Jake and Sarah.
The slow but sure development of their romance is handled with exactly the right amount of tenderness and the anxiety that threatens to tear them apart. Sarah fears her growing union with Jake will anger and hurt the already wounded Ash, while Jake dreads anyone thinking he's appropriated every aspect of Alex's life......as both star of the team and boyfriend to Sarah.
You can't help rooting for Jake and Sarah every step of the way and even better. author Robin Constantine deals with the supporting characters around them with a knowing gentle sympathy.....even when a few of them might annoy you at times.
Not an earth-shaking story by any means, but you can never have enough heartwarming experiences like the one this book delivers. Never mind who's on the cover.....the really good stuff's in the pages. 5 stars (*****)
No comments:
Post a Comment