Review : Golden by Jessi Kirby

Posted by on July 29, 2013 1:22 pm in 4 stars reads | 5 comments

goldenGolden by Jessi Kirby
Pages : 278
Genre :  YA, Contemporary fiction
Stand Alone My Rating : 4/5

From the back of the book  :

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

My Thoughts :

I went into Golden with some expectations; after all, it was my third time reading Jessi Kirby, and twice before I had already been pleasantly surprised. Moonglass is one of my favorite YA contemporary novels, and while In Honor didn’t have as much of an emotional effect on me, it’s still a  book I greatly appreciated.

I happily report today to say that Golden absolutely fulfilled my expectations. Golden is a realistic and emotional portrayal of the uncertainty that comes with choosing your path to adulthood. It’s a coming-of-age story that portrays the usual teenage doubts, in a quiet prose that is never overdone and a main character I easily connected to.

Golden is also a book that I didn’t fully appreciated before a good night of sleep. Since Parker is reading another girl’s journal and investigating this girl’s death and life, I first felt like there were two stories being told in one, and I found myself more intrigued by Julianna’s life than Parker’s. When the Julianna mystery was finally solved, my first instinct was to feel like reading more about Parker was much less exciting, especially since I had a pretty great idea of what was coming.

But once I had a few more hours to think about it, it became much more obvious to me how Julianna’s story mirrored Parker’s, and how intricately they were woven together. Of course, we know that Parker was proving something to herself through her investigation of Julianna, but the full weight of it only hit me the morning after, when I had had time to consider the different aspects of the story.

Jessi Kirby’s talent isn’t limited to writing gorgeous introspective stories; she also builds realistic, interesting characters (like Parker’s best friend Kat) and creates lovely, romantic stories. I absolutely adored how Parker and Trevor acted with each other, and I loved how their relationship concluded in a lovely manner without being overdone.

I won’t hesitate to say that not only was Golden a winner, it also confirmed Jessi Kirby as one of the best contemporary YA authors I  have had the opportunity to read. Her characters are easy to relate to, her prose is light and lovely, her stories compelling. I can only recommend her once more, whether you are in it for the coming-of-age reflexion or the mystery.

Also by Jessi Kirby :

Moonglass and In Honor

by jessi kirby

5 Comments

  1. I haven’t read any of Jessi Kirby’s books but after reading your review, I think I might have to. Golden sounds really relatable and fresh. I’m a fan of introspective stories and Golden sounds like a good fit!

    • I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on it! All of Kirby’s books have a bit of similar approach, but I found Golden was the most introspective one since it didn’t deal directly with death and grief, but a more “abstract” issue. I hope you enjoy it!

  2. I”ve not read any books by Jessi Kirby. Guess I should look her up, as I’ve seen nothing but raving reviews regarding “Golden”. 🙂

    • I really like her style! I have read a few less enthusiastic reviews; a few readers felt like there wasn’t much happening, or didn’t find the mystery believable. I didn’t have issues with any of that though, so I quite enjoyed it!

  3. Sounds like this is an author I need to start reading!

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