Kiss Crush Collide
Leah Johnson is the youngest of the three perfect Johnson sisters: valedictorians, prom queens, athletes, and scholars. In the summer before her senior year, preparing for her oldest sister&#x2019;s wedding, she wakes up to the fact that she wants no part of the perfect life her mother has orchestrated for her. A major part of that is her handsome, football-star boyfriend, whose advances she&#x2019;s been fending off for months. The catalyst for these realizations is a chance encounter with the valet-parking boy at the country club, with whom Leah has not only serious chemistry but also honest affection. Although there are plenty of steamy but nongraphic groping sessions, it&#x2019;s the strong character development that drives Meredith&#x2019;s first novel. Leah is cynical, self-aware, and breaking free from a stifling future while learning how to better understand her family. Meredith also displays a great ear for teen interior monologues in Leah&#x2019;s compelling first-person narrative. Readers will delight in Leah&#x2019;s transformation from wealthy, privileged brat to a young woman ready to take chances and live her own life. Grades 9-12. --Debbie Carton