Leaving Jetty Road
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Nat, Lise, and Sofia are best friends. This year, their last year of high school, none of them foresees the changes that will occur in their lives.
This is the year that Nat—the go-between, the peacemaker—gets a job and meets a drop-dead gorgeous chef named Josh.
This is the year that Lise—quiet, shy, and solitary Lise—decides to take control of her life by taking control of her weight.
This is the year that Sofia—the ultimate guy magnet—gets her nose pierced and falls seriously in love for the first time in her life.
This is the year that will change each of them forever.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian author Burton's engrossing first novel delves into the psyches of three teenage girlfriends during their last year of high school. Nat, one of two narrators, neatly divides people into two categories, the swimmers ("always knowing where they're headed") and the drifters ("They don't sink, and they don't swim"). Not knowing what she wants to do after graduation, Nat considers herself to be a drifter until she falls in love with Josh, a fellow employee at a health food restaurant. However, the relationship is not destined to last. Meanwhile, Lise, the second narrator, whom Nat deems a "swimmer," is much less stable than her determined, focused personality suggests. After becoming a vegetarian, she takes her dieting to an extreme, and her friends start to wonder if she is becoming anorexic. Alternating the two girls' points of view, Burton skillfully captures universal doubts and insecurities that are a part of growing up as both girls struggle with obsessions. Nat and Lise emerge as clearly defined, vulnerable characters whose hurt and anxieties will be strongly felt. Their close friend Sofia, who exudes confidence and common sense, provides a comical and refreshing contrast to her more introspective pals. Although psychologically intense, the book remains optimistic, hinting in the end that the girls will overcome their obstacles even as they choose different paths. Ages 12-up.
