[Review] Golden - Jessi Kirby

Title of Book : Golden
Author : Jessi Kirby
Publisher : Simon & Schuster

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 read Golden for free at Pulseit.com.

Do you know a famous valedictorian speech by Erica Goldson where she scared because she thinks that she didn’t do much in her high school life? And she thinks that she was trapped in an educational system and not sure about what she wants to do in her life? Well this book reminds me of that. With a bit more of drama of course. Parker Frost is Erica Goldson, more or less. Upon her graduation, she and her friends decide to take one last chance to do unexpected thing.

Reading this book gives me mellow feeling. It feels like reading someone’s memoir. Parker Frost, goes on a mission to unravel the mystery of the town’s golden couple, Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz. The couple’s tragic story has become a legend in the town. Parker believes in something after reading Julianna’s journal. She believes that there’s still hope for Julianna. These things about believing and hopes give positive vibes to the reader (to me, at least) and I like it.

In the beginning of every chapters, there’s always a poem which I think is beautiful and related to the story. Some of the poems are Robert Frost’s, who apparently Parker’s favorite poet. I think that these poems are nice additions to the book.

Golden is a book that makes me think about what I’ve done with my life until now. It makes me stop and think for a while about what I really want to do with my life. This book has a good theme, I don’t even mind that there’s also a bit of romance tragedy in it. Golden is a good read. I really recommend this book to read.

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken