Author: Sara Zarr
Publisher: Little, Brown
Genre: YA (contemporary)
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Why I read it/how I found it: Sara Zarr is coming today to Utah Festival of Books, so I decided to give her a try.
Description: As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another's only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she's lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she's popular, happy, and dating, everything "Jennifer" couldn't be---but she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend.
When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.
Review: Ok, I feel that my opinion will not be helpful to those who enjoy contemporary fiction, because I don't. I know, it's weird, I read the back and think, "Oh, this looks good!" but then upon reading it, I don't usually hate them, but I'm not glued to the situation, either. But I think I enjoyed Sweethearts more than most other contemporary novels I've read. Zarr presented Jennifer/Jenna's internal struggle with who she was excellently, especially by fixating on Jenna's past as Jennifer with such vivid details, and then hurling the reader into her current life as the popular girl. I didn't care much for the ending. I guess I just wanted there to be more to it; although it didn't make me want to hurl the book across the room, either.
Recommendation: Fans for contemporary will probably enjoy this.
Should I buy it?: Eh...again, I'm a tough judge because I don't like contemporary. But it's fairly cheap so if it's your thing, go ahead. Us who are too stuck in fantasy/sci-fi should probably pass though.
Other information: You can find Sara Zarr's website here.
Thanks for the review (the cover is definitely yummy!) :)
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