I loved the fact the town pitched them as this golden couple, yet the journal told a different sort of story. I cared as deeply about these characters, despite already knowing they were dead, as I did Parker, Trevor and Kat. The story with Julianna and Shane is one of my favorite elements of this book, rapt with emotions and pain. Parker didn’t just instantly become spontaneous, and though she had a few fly by the seat of her pants decisions, there was a bigger sense to it too, like she was looking at everything ahead of her now in a different way. It’s also the sort of blind expectation, where she doesn’t see the impact it’s having on Parker. Her mother is overbearing, the kind of mom who has such high standards and expectations for her daughter, anything else is not really an option. There is so much that is relatable with her, yet she stands on her own in this great way. This is something I truly loved in this book, and in her. Some of her bigger shifts, though, come in stages, and though the overall timing of them is relatively close together, she still takes a breather between each incident. Parker is an amazingly well done character, a girl who goes through such tremendous changes. With both Parker’s story, and that of Julianna and Shane’s through the journal, mixing together and overlapping, Kirby’s talent truly shines in this stunning book.

This is everything I love in a “what the heck am I doing with my life?” and finding myself book. OPINION: Beautiful, tragic, emotional and memorable, Golden is the perfect blend of coming of age, romance, mystery and friendship. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. 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. 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.

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. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story-one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High-perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. 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. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. SUMMARY: Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled.

Golden by Jessi Kirby