Anyone but You
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Critter and Jesse have been close to Seattle since her dad moved in with their mother. Closer still since he took off six years ago and Layla decided to raise Sea as one of her own. It’s a decision none of them regrets, especially not Critter. He’s more than a brother–he’s Seattle’s best friend.
Now it’s vacation, and Seattle and Critter are stoop sitters, at least until summer school starts in July. It beats working like Jesse, or worse, studying like Layla wants them to. It’s too hot for Seattle to be on her skateboard–too hot, even, for Critter to be scamming on girls. But Sea comes up with a plan for them to bluff their way into the ritzy swimming pool the next town over. Big mistake.
Soon Critter’s got his heart set on a Penn Acres princess, while Seattle’s trying hard not to fall for a skater boy on the rebound. For the first time in a long while, they can talk to anyone but each other. Then Seattle’s dad shows up unexpectedly, and the way of life Critter and Seattle have always known begins to change even more. . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Critter and Seattle's relationship goes through major upheavals at the beginning of a hot summer when the step-siblings both find romance, and when Seattle's long-absent father suddenly returns. Readers may be unsettled by their feelings for each other (17-year-old Critter fantasizes about 15-year-old Seattle, and they eventually kiss), but the author creates enough depth in her protagonists to give their complicated relationship more than shock value. Through alternating perspectives, readers follow the pair as Critter meets Sarah, a rich and pretty lifeguard, and Seattle as she bonds with Scott over their mutual passion for skateboarding. But these secondary characters lack the same depth and seem to be there only to prove Seattle and Critter's connection ("You guys have been acting really off. Like, jealous and possessive of each other," Seattle's other stepbrother tells her). Readers will appreciate that the author does not push for any easy resolutions: Seattle is angry when her father comes back suddenly after a six-year absence, claiming depression and apologizing for being a "horrible father." When he leaves again, Seattle says she does not care but then "melt into hug." Even the relationship between Seattle and Critter remains undefined. In the end, Zeises (Contents Under Pressure) presents a sophisticated novel about family, love and growing up. Ages 14-up.
