Waiting for You

Read Susane Colasanti's posts on the Penguin Blog. At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, more importantly, a boyfriend. So when the handsome and popular Derek asks her out, Marisa thinks her long wait for happiness is over. But several bumps in the road—including her parentsвЂTM unexpected separation, a fight with her best friend, and a shocking disappointment in her relationship with Derek—test MarisaвЂTMs ability to maintain her new outlook. Only the anonymous DJ, whose underground podcasts have the schoolвЂTMs ear, seems to understand what Marisa is going through. But she has no idea who he is—or does she? In Waiting For You , this third romantic novel from Susane Colasanti, Marisa learns how to “be in the Now” and realizes that the love sheвЂTMs been waiting for has been right in front of her all along. From School Library Journal Grade 7–10—With summer camp over, Marissa and her best friend, Sterling, eagerly await the beginning of sophomore year. Reality kicks in the first day of school though, and, according to Marissa, "it majorly sucks." Sure, Derek is at least smiling at her, but her history of anxiety and depression still haunts her, even though she is determined to put it behind her. Nash, her old friend and next-door neighbor who has not spoken to her in several years, is assigned as her lab partner. She enjoys talking with him but thinks he is much too nerdy for her. As the school year progresses, Derek breaks up with his girlfriend and he and Marissa begin to date. Everything is going well until she realizes that Nash has fallen for her, her parents are splitting up because her mother has had an affair, Derek and his ex are spending a lot of time together, Sterling is about to hook up with a guy she met online who is at least six years older than she is, and her depression is returning. Marissa can become a bit tiresome and the story's pacing is uneven—parts of it seem to go on forever—but the teen and her friends are realistic as they struggle to make sense of high school, romance, and families and as they realize that not one of them has a perfect life and that they all need each other's friendship and love.— Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, Denton Copyright В© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Seems like there ought to be an advocacy group for the stereotyped hot guy of YA literature who is always portrayed as a cheating slimeball.В This title followsВ a familiar story line: Marisa is thrilled whenВ gorgeous Derek starts dating her, but it doesnвЂTMt last, and he is caught flirting heavilyВ with his ex. The demise of her parentsвЂTM marriage coincides withВ MarisaвЂTMs own failing relationship, and astute readers will realize that herВ misplaced anger with her father should be redirected to her mother, who is the one having an affair. Throughout all this, nice, nerdy, next-door-neighbor Nash is there to supportВ Marisa (and the rest of the school in his anonymous nightly advice podcasts, in which he answers e-mails and IMs). The twists in the plot are pretty transparent, and the language isВ peppered withВ enough “he goes,” “sheвЂTMs like,” and “whatevвЂTMs” toВ signal the demise of grammatically correct English. Even so, the romance is less graphic than in many otherВ similarly themed YA novels, and middle-school girls looking for love will find fulfillment here. Grades 7-10. --Cindy Dobrez Read Susane Colasanti's posts on the Penguin Blog. At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, more importantly, a boyfriend. So when the handsome and popular Derek asks her out, Marisa thinks her long wait for happiness is over. But several bumps in the road—including her parents’ unexpected separation, a fight with her best friend, and a shocking disappointment in her relationship with Derek—test Marisa’s ability to maintain her new outlook. Only the anonymous DJ, whose underground podcasts have the school’s ear, seems to understand what Marisa is going through. But she has no idea who he is—or does she? In Waiting For You , this third romantic novel from Susane Colasanti, Marisa learns how to “be in the Now” and realizes that the love she’s been waiting for has been right in front of her all along. From School Library Journal Grade 7–10—With summer camp over, Marissa and her best friend, Sterling, eagerly await the beginning of sophomore year. Reality kicks in the first day of school though, and, according to Marissa, "it majorly sucks." Sure, Derek is at least smiling at her, but her history of anxiety and depression still haunts her, even though she is determined to put it behind her. Nash, her old friend and next-door neighbor who has not spoken to her in several years, is assigned as her lab partner. She enjoys talking with him but thinks he is much too nerdy for her. As the school year progresses, Derek breaks up with his girlfriend and he and Marissa begin to date. Everything is going well until she realizes that Nash has fallen for her, her parents are splitting up because her mother has had an affair, Derek and his ex are spending a lot of time together, Sterling is about to hook up with a guy she met online who is at least six years older than she is, and her depression is returning. Marissa can become a bit tiresome and the story's pacing is uneven—parts of it seem to go on forever—but the teen and her friends are realistic as they struggle to make sense of high school, romance, and families and as they realize that not one of them has a perfect life and that they all need each other's friendship and love.— Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, Denton Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Seems like there ought to be an advocacy group for the stereotyped hot guy of YA literature who is always portrayed as a cheating slimeball. This title follows a familiar story line: Marisa is thrilled when gorgeous Derek starts dating her, but it doesn’t last, and he is caught flirting heavily with his ex. The demise of her parents’ marriage coincides with Marisa’s own failing relationship, and astute readers will realize that her misplaced anger with her father should be redirected to her mother, who is the one having an affair. Throughout all this, nice, nerdy, next-door-neighbor Nash is there to support Marisa (and the rest of the school in his anonymous nightly advice podcasts, in which he answers e-mails and IMs). The twists in the plot are pretty transparent, and the language is peppered with enough “he goes,” “she’s like,” and “whatev’s” to signal the demise of grammatically correct English. Even so, the romance is less graphic than in many other similarly themed YA novels, and middle-school girls looking for love will find fulfillment here. Grades 7-10. --Cindy Dobrez Romance,Young Adult,Contemporary,Azizex666 Read Susane Colasanti's posts on the Penguin Blog. It's sophomore year, and Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, hopefully, her first real boyfriend. But after popular Derek asks her out, things get complicated. Not only do her parents unexpectedly separate, but Marisa has a fight with her best friend, and Derek'the love of her life'delivers a shocking disappointment. The only things keeping Marisa together are the podcasts from the anonymous DJ, who seems to totally understand Marisa. But she doesn't know who he is ... or maybe she does From the author of the City Love trilogy. It’s sophomore year, and Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, hopefully, her first real boyfriend. But after popular Derek asks her out, things get complicated. Not only do her parents unexpectedly separate, but Marisa has a fight with her best friend, and Derek—the love of her life—delivers a shocking disappointment. The only things keeping Marisa together are the podcasts from the anonymous DJ, who seems to totally understand Marisa. But she doesn’t know who he is . . . or maybe she does. Fifteen-year-old high school sophomore Marisa, who has an anxiety disorder, decides that this is the year she will get what she wants--a boyfriend and a social life--but things do not turn out exactly the way she expects them to For sophomore, Marisa, suffering from anxiety disorder is just part of her life, but this year she wants to make some major changes