Jeanette S. (Yuinen) reviewed on 10/7/2011

A very enjoyable second novel from Janelle Brown, who explores contemporary social and economic situations through her young adult characters; while I think her conclusions are a little too optimistic (not necessarily a bad thing!), her characters are still very believable and relateable, even as they occassionally fall into speaking as an observer of social reality (George Orwell sometimes did a similar thing in his fiction novels), in this novel the housing bust as the young couple lose their dream home which they felt entitled to, but couldn't afford. I could almost visualize the character of the absentee father - who would be a great person to hang out with, but not the person you'd want as a parent, or entrust with car keys. I could also easily see Aoki, the wild and unstable (and fun) pop artist, who is this novel's closest thing to a "bad guy" but there are no real bad guys, only bad situations caused by forces beyond the understanding of the characters, who struggle to realize unrealistic dreams, and find some kind of happiness. I'm looking forward to reading Janelle Brown in the future.

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