Golden by Jessi Kirby Review

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: Conference
Stand Alone
Love, tragedy, and mystery converge in this compelling novel from “an author to watch” (Booklist).
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.

Review
Jessi Kirby never ceases to amaze me. This was absolutely amazing. I loved it with all my heart. 

Parker has always been the good girl. She's about to graduate without having ever done anything risky. She gets her hands on Julianna, a town legends, journal. She's determined to discover what really happened all that time ago. 

I loved Parker. I loved seeing her grow throughout the story. She was very relatable. I could see her struggling but still trying. By the end of the story, she was a completely different person. She wasn't changing for anyone but herself. I didn't really like Kat. She was a good friend with good intentions. She just didn't go about things the right way. Trevor, I really liked. He was super cute. I loved how patient he was with Parker. 

I didn't get into this story right away. Once I did, I couldn't put it down. I loved the storyline so much. It had a sense if adventure but was very moving. It definitely wasn't happy all the time. It touched on some pretty serious stuff. I loved not knowing how everything would turn out. I had to wait and see. I really didn't see some of that stuff coming. Overall this was the best summer read. If your in for an adventure, this is for you!