Author: Becca Wilhite
Short, spunky and outspoken Leigh Mason has gotten used to the life she lives with her mom and younger twin sisters in Indianapolis. She tolerates high school (at least she's smart, and a senior) and loves her best friend, Jeremy. But when her mom announces that she's getting married, and her new stepfather will be moving to Indy with his daughter, Betsy, also a high school senior, Leigh balks. When Betsy and Jeremy quickly fall for each other, Leigh falls apart.
I think Leigh is supposed to be intentionally selfish at the beginning of the book, so we can see how the experience of adjusting to life with Betsy changes her. And while we do see Leigh changing, I wonder if White loses us by making Leigh pretty repugnant at the beginning of the book. I worry that she underestimates teenagers-- Leigh is so self-absorbed and so selfish (I mean, Betsy had to move across the country in the middle of her senior year of high school-- I wonder what kind of horny parents wouldn't wait four more months to get married, but that's another whole gripe) when the novel starts that it's hard to trust Wilhite enough to go on the rest of the journey with her.
Does Wilhite ultimately deliver? I'm not sure. I think she did a great job of showing Leigh's growth through coming to terms with her dad's death by learning to drive. I also felt like Leigh's mom's description of how Leigh functions as the family's emotional barometer was interesting (doesn't every family have an emotional barometer?) But some of the plot elements (Jeremy's cancer? the fling with a cute Tongan boy in Oklahoma helping her overcome her jealousy?) seemed sort of out of left field. The writing is also clunky at times. I hope that as Leigh moves on to college, Becca Wilhite continues to mature as an author in her future works.
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