Author: Matthew Quick

Genre: YA Fiction

Publisher: Little Brown

Pages: 272

Nanette was a good girl: good student, star athlete, college bound (on athletic scholarships!). She spent lunch everyday with her favorite teacher. That teacher chooses her to be the one to whom he passes his favorite (out of print) book, The Bubblegum Reaper. After binge reading this book, Nanette begins to feel that she is not forging her own path in life, but is, instead, living the life that others have pushed her in to. That feeling becomes stronger once she starts spending time with the book’s author, and is introduced to another huge fan of the book, Alex. She rebels, she falls in love, she finds out that every action that she takes has its own consequences that she must deal with.

I enjoyed this book in a very nostalgic way. It is a story of coming of age, finding yourself, and coming in to your own. It reminded me of being in high school, and immediately after, and trying to figure out exactly who I was supposed to be in the world- not who everyone saw when they looked at me, or who they thought that I should be. I could identify, somewhat, with Nanette. I think that this is a book that should definitely be read by young adults, and would be enjoyed by those a bit outside of the YA market (who still love YA- like myself!), if only to look back and remember.