Sweethearts by Sara Zarr.

How early in a year can one declare that they have read one of the best teen novels of the year?  Well, maybe I will set a record!

Zarr has followed her very popular Story of a Girl with another tremendous read.  Jenna used to be fat and unpopular, but she has transformed her life into one of a popular pretty girl.  Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple.  She remains caught, hearing the voice of the girl she used to be buried deep within her and unwilling to let go.  Jenna is living close to the edge emotionally already, but when her childhood friend returns after Jenna had thought he died eight years earlier, he brings a flood of memories with him.   And one of those memories cuts a little too close to them both even with eight years having passed. 

The tension of the this book is masterfully achieved.  Zarr uses vivid memories, crawlingly desperate prose, and no theatrics to create this book that begs to be finished in a single sitting.  Zarr also uses Jenna’s relationship with food to convey her emotional state.  The wonderful thing about this is that she doesn’t simplify it, but allows it just be there in all of its complexity.  Here’s an example from the book:

“My stomach was already beyond full from the tuna sandwich and leftover spaghetti I’d wolfed down along with the stolen candy bar, but I was still hungry in the back of my throat, in my chest, in my limbs — every part of me but my stomach.” 

It is Zarr’s ability to live with complexity in her characters that make her books work so well.  No one is free to be a cardboard character here, they all are human puzzles to enjoy and fully believe in.

Highly recommended with a wonderful cover, this book belongs in all libraries serving teens.  It is one of the best of the year, despite the fact we aren’t out of January yet.  A real winner that is bound to fly off of shelves and to readers who will come back begging for more.   I’d recommend Gail Giles novels to fans of Zarr.