Summary
Grant is ALL about the school newspaper. He’s dedicated all four years of high school to the paper, serving as editor-in-chief for his senior year. And through it all, his best friend, Rose, has been right by his side. Until she up and quit two months ago.
Rose thought she wanted the same things as Grant – the paper and the journalism program at Northwestern. She thought she wanted Grant, too. But two months before graduation Rose questions everything in her life. Does Grant feel about her the way she feels about him? Does she even want to be a journalist? Or did she get caught up in HIS enthusiasm? So Rose strikes out on her own, quitting the paper, getting a boyfriend and not telling anyone she was accepted at Northwestern.
So, that’s that. Grant and Rose end up at prom, but not together. Senior year for them is essentially done. Grant is alone. Rose is with JB. All of their opportunities to be together have slipped away. But when the school goes into lockdown in the middle of prom, Grant and Rose find themselves caught up in the news story of their lives.
Review
This was so fun! From online descriptions of this book, I was expecting all the romance pieces in the story. The will-they-or-won’t-they questions hanging over Grant and Rose’s relations were expected. And that was great. Neither of the kids were good at expressing their feelings. Sometimes they weren’t even aware of them at all. I was thrilled that Rose was strong enough to walk away from the paper and explore some other options for her final days of high school when she started question her direction. That’s a great story in and of itself.
The lockdown angle, though, was a complete surprise for me, and I loved it. It opened up the story to other characters and increased the pace and urgency in the story. And it gave Grant and Rose time to look back and examine some of their past choices.
I enjoyed the combination of typical high school relationships and drama with the jolt of suspense brought about by the lockdown and the ways that part of the story unfolded. This was a lot of fun to read! (Language)