I love when I have to read books for work and end up loving them! (Because when the other direction happens, it is so incredibly heartbreaking.) Satellite, Whalen’s first YA novel, is a great piece of realistic YA fiction. She deals with first love, family dynamics, as well as confusion as to what it means to be a person. Her characters sound like real teenagers, smart yet still confused in certain aspects of the world. Quite a few YA novels these days aren’t able to do that and it breaks my heart. Thankfully, Whalen has nailed their voices. She also also managed to create a family mystery that kept me hooked from the very beginning. The novel is short but packed full of entertainment. No word or page is wasted. I even read the whole thing on the computer because I needed to know what was going to happen (which isn’t a normal thing because I have a hard time reading off computer screens and they hurt my eyes). A well crafted, fun (yet quite sad at times) read.
If you are in Chicago on Friday, join us at The Book Cellar for Lauren’s launch party at 7pm! There will be cake!
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