Summary: Mia’s sister needs a new kidney, and their birth mother is the only viable donor left. The only issue is that they don’t really know her, at least not well enough to ask for her kidney. On her way to New York to try and ask her, though, Mia hits a roadblock: an unexpected romance with a world-famous rockstar. She can’t let him distract her from her goal, though, but that’s easier said than done.
Review: This book had an interesting concept. A girl traveling solo to NYC (unbeknownst to her family) and, on the way, falling into a whirlwind romance is a cute idea that I haven’t necessarily read before!
I did think the romance was okay. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was fine enough. I’m not much for this trope, though. I’m a much bigger fan of a slow-burn romance, something that develops over 100 or so pages. This, however, was all-in immediately and they quickly became obsessed with each other. No thank you. I mean, Mia found out her sister was literally on her death bed… but all she could focus on was kissing Jax. That’s… a choice.
Beyond the mid-tier romance, I also found the characters to be remarkably cringy and the dialogue to be super terrible. Everything in the book felt like a Boomer creating a teen out of what they imagine teens to be, which, in fairness, it was that, but it shouldn’t be so obvious! Every awful stereotype of teens was played out in the text, and it make it super difficult to read, let alone enjoy. My biggest example of this was Jaxton’s eyebrow piercing. Was it a big plot point? No. Did I absolutely hate it? Yes. Gross. Outdated. Off-putting. It felt so 2001 and unnecessary. (This is very much a me problem, but still.)
I did, though, find the themes of family throughout the novel to be cute and interesting. I liked the bond between Mia and Maddy that was shown all story. I also was very intrigued when Maddy finally met her birth mother, Carmen, and realized how awful she was and how amazing her dad and mom were. There was a lot of good substance in these family dynamics that I didn’t necessarily expect but did appreciate.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Recommended reader: Anyone who likes:
- Romance
- Strangers to lovers
- Rockstars
- Sibling relationships
- Stories about family
- New York City
- The Victoria in My Head by Janelle Milanes
Discussion Questions:
- What importance does family have to Mia? Why was she hopeful about Carmen? After visiting Carmen, what does Mia come to realize about her own family back home? What theme may the author be trying to include about family?
- Describe Jaxton. How do his fans and the media perceive him? How does this influence Mia’s original perception of him? What type of person does she learn that he is? What theme may the author be trying to say with this?
- What problems are Mia and Jaxton both facing when they first meet? Throughout the story, how do they both help the other one? What draws them back to each other?
Specifics of the book:
- Genre: Romance
- Lexile Level: HL520L
- Accelerated Reader Level: 3.7 (9)
- Content Level: 7th
- Pages: 275
- Controversial Issues: None
Young Adult Lit Reviews 