Synopses & Reviews
A heartbreaking urban romance from award-winning author Paul Griffin
Fifteen-year-olds Cece and Mack didn't expect to fall in love. She's a sensitive A student; he's a high school dropout. But soon they're spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until Mack makes a horrible mistake, and suddenly the future they'd planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can't stay.
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"Griffin gracefully answers questions and solves mysteries, leaving us with hope and a smile without making things falsely shiny and bright."
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* "A haunting story of love and heartbreak. Bittersweet, stellar, with genuine dialogue and drama, this book will appeal greatly to teens, especially dog lovers."
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* "Unique and genuine. This is romance but also true tragedy. Heart-wrenching."
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* "Heartbreaking . . . extraordinary . . . vividly depicted through affecting prose and believable dialogue. Remarkable characters abound. Achingly, authentically emotionally resonant, this sad, never-saccharine tale will have absorbed readers reaching for the Kleenex. An outstanding love story."
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* "Sweet, sensual, utterly engrossing, drawing readers in with engagingly authentic dialogue and fully realized characters."
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"Exquisite, unforgettable, an intense portrait of first love, family ties and the bond between man and dog."
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"Realistic underlined. Will find its way to the 'favorites' shelf right next to S.E. Hinton's classic The Outsiders."
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"Authentic, painful, heartfelt. Griffin's gift shines in this moving novel of loss, acceptance, and the possibility of redemption."
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" . . . a strong title in the competitive teen romance genre. With tragic Romeo-and-Juliet elements, this is a fast,paced, refreshingly honest, and surprisingly realistic urban love story."
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Official selection Junior Library Guild
About the Author
Paul Griffin lives, writes, and trains dogs in New York City. His novel, The Orange Houses was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults Top Ten, an International Reading Association 2010 Notable Book for a Global Society, a Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Book of 2009, and an Amelia Bloomer Project Award Winner.