Come As You Are
A Novel
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4.3 • 7 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Come as You Are is a compelling love story and family drama that addresses the question: Can we alter our dreams and stories from the past to create a better future for our children?
Zane and Skye are two misfit teens drawn together by their love of music and their loneliness, both part of Seattle's grunge scene in the early '90s. They dream of moving to L.A. together: Zane's music career following the trajectory of Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder, and Skye drawing Picasso-esque portraits on the Venice Beach boardwalk. When a tragedy violently catapults them from best friends to lovers, their bond is forever strengthened and their relationship destroyed. Ten years later, they must come together as parents, putting aside abandoned dreams and broken promises. The question is: can they face the truth of who they are, and become the parents their daughter needs them to be?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Haupt's middling latest (after In the Shadow of a Thousand Hills) follows a tumultuous romance between an aspiring grunge rocker and a music fan who grow up together in Seattle. Skye and Zane first meet at 12 and 14, respectively, in the late 1980s and bond over their interest in the local music scene. They're just friends, but when Skye is 17, they hook up and she gets pregnant. After her sister Lauren's accidental death, she flees Seattle to a small Texas town where Zane, who had occasionally slept with Lauren and dated Lauren's mean-spirited cheerleader friend during high school, finds her, and they resettle in Los Angeles. After a tumultuous life with him in L.A., during which his rock-star plans are derailed by drug addiction (but not his "strategically ripped fishnets"), he leaves her and their daughter, Montana. Later, Skye settles in Albuquerque with good guy Aaron, to whom she's cautiously engaged. After Skye's father dies, Zane tells her he wants another chance and that he's changed. Despite the red flags, Skye lets Montana have a relationship with her dad, and he makes decisions for their daughter without Skye's input. This, coupled with her hesitation to commit to Aaron, jeopardizes their engagement. Haupt's narrative is as aimless as Zane's life, and the drama often feels forced. This is an easy one to pass.
