But cue the big, dopey but smokin’ hot competition for Sara’s affection: Dave, a jock with one thing (and you know the thing!) on his mind. Tobey’s had his eye on Sara for a while and has decided that the start of their senior year is going to mean big changes in his world: namely, he’s going after the girl. Watching her from afar is Tobey Beller, a consummate slacker student who spends his time plucking guitar strings instead of doing schoolwork. Sara Tyler is a sophisticated, sassy senior known for her intelligence and dedication to getting into the best college possible. In fact, Colasanti’s novel didn’t seem to be missing much in terms of easily placing us in the world of a suburban high school in New Jersey, and introducing us to two would-be lovers who struggle to own up to their feelings for one another - and not look foolish in the process. The confusion, turmoil and uncertainty about friendships, sex, family? Here too. Those fresh, exciting feelings of first love - and of your high school sweetheart? All here. And reading Colasanti’s novel was just like taking a plunge back into my own high school memories - in a good way.

It’s no secret that I’m a diarist - I’ve written in a journal every day since my freshman year of high school, now giving me a solid ten years worth of recollections and ramblings. Ages 12–up.After finishing Susane Colasanti’s When It Happens, something strange happened: I had an overwhelming urge to read my journals from high school. Seth never unloads the emotional baggage he carries about his parents’ separation and his fears about his own future, while Skye remains preoccupied with concerns about her friends throughout most of the novel. Although the two characters are well-defined, what they have in common is as vague as their understanding of each other. What follows is a fairly predictable account of tested passion as Skye and Seth overcome hurdles to stay together. They immediately make plans to visit each other on weekends while Seth attends college in Philadelphia. A torturous year of separation ends with a reunion on the same beach, and it appears that distance has made the couple’s hearts grow fonder.

After meeting on the beach, Skye, a privileged high-school student, and Seth, a recent graduate whose father owns a failing roller rink, fall head-over-heels in love, but they part unexpectedly before exchanging contact information. Readers looking for light romance will enjoy Colasanti’s (Keep Holding On) depiction of a long-distance relationship that beats the odds, even before it’s officially a relationship.

All I Need by Susane Colasanti