T
he Star of Me and You by Emery Lord
A year ago, Paige’s boyfriend died in a tragic swimming accident. Paige is trying to move on with her life but it’s hard when everyone gives you sympathetic looks all day and the thought of swimming makes her have an anxiety attack.
Paige finds comfort in discussing the trials of her life with her grandmother who is battling Alzheimer’s. While sorting through her feelings she decides to make a list of things she needs to do in order to move on. Date a boy she’s had a crush on for awhile, join a club and swim.
She decides to join the quiz bowl team which connects her with her crush’s cousin, Max. Paige and Max form a friendship that opens doors for Paige to try new things and be more social, all steps to moving on with her life.
This is the story of Paige learning how to move past a tragedy that she doesn’t want to define the rest of her life.
I enjoyed Paige’s story. I related to the relationship she had with her grandmother and how big of an impact her grandmother’s health had on her own life. Lord did a good job of making Paige a 3-dimensional character while still keeping her a teenager that other teens can relate to. Overall, this was a good story that I enjoyed and will recommend to students.
