Review : Golden by Jessi Kirby

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Golden
Author : Jessi Kirby
Publication Date : May 14th 2013
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
Goodreads - The Book Depository

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.


Personal Thoughts

2013 has been the year for YA contemporaries to shine. Every single YA contemporary book I have read has been outstanding and Golden by Jessi Kirby was not an exception. Simple, yet poignant, Golden was a book that sparkled (pun intended) with its simplistic beauty.

The characters in Golden were brilliantly fleshed-out. Complex and in-depth, these were characters that felt realistic. Their emotions and feelings were completely palpable. Parker, the main character, was a delight. I felt like she was very relate-able because she was one of those people who strived to work hard because of the pressure from people around her. Although I had an instant connection with Parker, I loved unraveling the layers to character over the course of the book. Parker was a strong-minded individual who refused to bow down when she put her head into a task. I loved that about her. In addition, I loved how imperfect she was. She made mistakes, just like we regular humans make, making her even more realistic. Watching Parker grow, shed her insecurities and learning to really live her life was an absolute thrill for me. What I really loved about Golden was how intricate each and everyone of the characters was. Jessi Kirby doesn't leave one character in the side-lines, underdeveloped. She ensured that each of the characters had their own personality and she really went into focusing her attention on developing these characters without straying away from the plot line. I was completely surprised by how emotionally attached I became to even the girl in the mystery, Julianna, along with Parker. I wish I could express my feelings about these characters in a little more depth, but honestly, my words are not enough to depict their beauty. You really need to read the book to find out how wonderful these characters are.

Golden, once I started reading, was a book that I wanted to read forever. There's something about Jessi Kirby's writing, despite it being simple, that makes it addictive. Her prose was effortless to read and flows smoothly.While Golden was mostly the coming-out-of-age story of Parker, it also had an element of mystery to it in the form of Julianna and Shane's relationship that ended tragically 10 years ago. I loved how the author incorporated this into her plot line. As we watch Parker grow, the readers also get the opportunity to watch Julianna grow through Parker's eyes. I became so emotionally invested in Julianna's story as well that I refused to put down the book until I came to know what happened to her. The romance in this book was perfect. Slow, intense and full of chemistry, Parker and Trevor's relationship was another reason I was rooted to this book. In addition, Julianna's love story was also poignant and pierced my poor heart. The other relationships in Golden from the mother-daughter relationship to the friendship between Parker and Kat were portrayed in a stunning manner.

There was so much that I loved about Golden that I'm finding it very hard to express my exact feelings for it. I just really loved this book in its entirety and just writing this review makes me want to read it all over again. This was my very first Jessi Kirby book, but it will definitely not be my last. Beautiful, poignant, simple and with a touch of mystery, Golden will hook you into its interesting plot-line, its complex characters and the intense relationships, refusing to let you go. This is definitely not a book to miss out on!

Rating

Cover : 5/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC of Golden!