Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

I bought this book a while ago but just read it. Let me tell you right now…stupid move. Like, really stupid. This book was amazing and just made me feel so many things.

I really liked and connected with Parker. She reminded me of me in many ways. She’s very focused on her school and such. When she found Julianna’s journal, something sparked a change in her, and it was so interesting to watch. She realized that life was only a one-time thing and she needed to take advantage of her one wild and precious life.

Oh goodness Trevor was adorable. It was easy for me to see how much he liked her, even in the beginning. He clearly cares about Parker and wants to help her. He’s definitely one of the good guys, and he’s tied with Jase Garrett from My Life Next Door as my number one favorite good guys!

Kat, Parker’s best friend, was hilarious. I loved her truck driver mouth. On the other hand, I disliked Parker’s mom. She needs to let go and not be such a pushy mother. She cared more about Parker’s GPA than her actual feelings.

I adored the plot. The journal entries were really cool and I loved reading Parker’s reactions to them and how she drew inspiration into her own life. I also thought the writing was beautiful. The Robert Frost references felt perfect to me, I was happy that the romance was not the fore-front of the book. It was perfect to me in how it progressed. Very sweet.

The greatest thing that this book made me feel was hope. The ending was so hopeful. And perfect.

I’m not going to do my favorite swoon-worthy quote because you guys should enjoy it for yourselves so here’s my favorite all-around quote:

“But it seems to me that the experiences that stay with you, the things you’ll always remember, aren’t the ones you can force, or go looking for. I’ve always thought of those things as the ones that somehow find you.”

Rating: 5/5 Tar Heels!