Althea & Oliver
Christina Moracho
PD: 10.9.14 by Viking Juvenile
Summary:
What if you live for
the moment when life goes off the rails—and then one day there’s no one
left to help you get it back on track?
Althea Carter and Oliver McKinley have been best friends since they were six; she’s the fist-fighting instigator to his peacemaker, the artist whose vision balances his scientific bent. Now, as their junior year of high school comes to a close, Althea has begun to want something more than just best-friendship. Oliver, for his part, simply wants life to go back to normal, but when he wakes up one morning with no memory of the past three weeks, he can’t deny any longer that something is seriously wrong with him. And then Althea makes the worst bad decision ever, and her relationship with Oliver is shattered. He leaves town for a clinical study in New York, resolving to repair whatever is broken in his brain, while she gets into her battered Camry and drives up the coast after him, determined to make up for what she’s done.
Their journey will take them from the rooftops, keg parties, and all-ages shows of their North Carolina hometown to the pool halls, punk houses, and hospitals of New York City before they once more stand together and face their chances. Set in the DIY, mix tape, and zine culture of the mid-1990s, Cristina Moracho’s whip-smart debut is an achingly real story about identity, illness, and love—and why bad decisions sometimes feel so good.
Althea Carter and Oliver McKinley have been best friends since they were six; she’s the fist-fighting instigator to his peacemaker, the artist whose vision balances his scientific bent. Now, as their junior year of high school comes to a close, Althea has begun to want something more than just best-friendship. Oliver, for his part, simply wants life to go back to normal, but when he wakes up one morning with no memory of the past three weeks, he can’t deny any longer that something is seriously wrong with him. And then Althea makes the worst bad decision ever, and her relationship with Oliver is shattered. He leaves town for a clinical study in New York, resolving to repair whatever is broken in his brain, while she gets into her battered Camry and drives up the coast after him, determined to make up for what she’s done.
Their journey will take them from the rooftops, keg parties, and all-ages shows of their North Carolina hometown to the pool halls, punk houses, and hospitals of New York City before they once more stand together and face their chances. Set in the DIY, mix tape, and zine culture of the mid-1990s, Cristina Moracho’s whip-smart debut is an achingly real story about identity, illness, and love—and why bad decisions sometimes feel so good.
Thoughts:
I fell in love with the simplistic design of the cover: a mane of hair, an ampersand,and a pillow and that BRIGHT YELLOW which screams, "Read Me!"
New to me but sounds good. Hope that you get a chance to read it soon.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this one around, I'm counting down the days to this definitely!
ReplyDeleteMy WoW
This sounds good but I honestly don't like the cover, especially the color - but you can't judge a book by it's cover, right???
ReplyDeleteSee my WOW!
Thanks for stopping my by WOW earlier! New follower. This one sounds interesting, but I agree with Kimmy, the cover didn't really pull me in. Hope you enjoy it when you get to check it out!
ReplyDeleteSandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
I was ready to write this one off, but my goodness does it sounds like a whiff of fresh air. I love the cover as well, so simple and yet artistic.
ReplyDelete-Mari
What makes me want to read this one is the mid-90s setting; it just sounds so great, and I can't wait to get started! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMy WoW.
This sounds like a great read! Nice pick!
ReplyDeleteHallie @ Book by Book
The cover seriously is eye-catching in that yellow! I will admit I hadn't read the synopsis before--plus I clearly didn't look closely at the cover, because I always thought the hair was a mermaid's tail! Oops! :) Great pick!!
ReplyDeleteRachel @ Paper Cuts