A Sense of the Infinite

March 16, 2015
Smith (Wild Awake) explores the complexity of friendships and feelings of self-worth in a contemporary coming-of-age novel. The story, told from the point of view of high-school senior Annabeth, shows how her relationship with her best friend Noe gradually dissolves after Noe
gets a boyfriend and decides to go to a
different college than the one she and Annabeth had planned to attend together. Now Annabeth is left to determine who she is and what she wants after graduation, not easy when she has spent much of her life following Noe’s lead. But perhaps most challenging to Annabeth is her closely guarded secret about the father she’s never met. As Annabeth’s reliance on Noe diminishes, she gingerly opens herself up to new risks, new possibilities, and new acquaintances. Annabeth’s
psychological journey is painful but insightful as she revisits significant moments from her childhood and sharpens her focus on the path before her. A convincing portrayal of an introspective teen emerging stronger and more confident as she becomes more independent. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

February 15, 2015
Senior year changes everything. Ever since discovering that her always-absent father actually raped her mother, and her subsequent birth destroyed her mother's hopes of a college degree, Annabeth has felt like a monster. Fortunately, throughout high school, she's held the position of Noe's best friend. They plan matching tattoos and matching futures. Noe also anchors her new boyfriend, Steven, an elegant and quirky actor with a suicidal past. Annabeth and Steven strike a limited but playful friendship, and all goes well until Noe begins to change. A remarkably casual sexual encounter leads to an abortion for Annabeth while visiting her cousin in college. Afterward, while her relationship with her mother continues to be strained ("[we] loved each other with eyes averted, like birds circling a pile of grain but never coming close enough to peck"), Annabeth reluctantly begins to drop agreed-upon pretenses in favor of the truth. Admitting to Noe's costs Annabeth their friendship; admitting to her own is harder. Steven teeters dangerously on the edge of a different truth. Some of the issues, particularly regarding Annabeth's father, feel forced, but the mess and loose ends of this story reflect human reality. Annabeth emerges as a complicated character doing her best. Smith's prose is knock-down gorgeous. A fearless writer ably tackles a difficult story. (Fiction. 14 & up)

April 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-All that is standing in between Annabeth and the amazing future she and her best friend Noe have been dreaming about is their senior year of high school. With Noe leading the way, Annabeth is sure nothing can go wrong. However, senior year brings unexpected changes, like Noe's new boyfriend always being in the picture, secrets Annabeth wants to keep hidden forever surfacing, and tensions between Annabeth and her mother getting worse, all of which makes Annabeth sure she needs Noe more than ever to stay grounded. However, when her faithful friend finally breaks free to focus more on her own life, Annabeth realizes things do not always go as planned. The world Smith creates is obsessive, sexually charged, and full of dark decisions. Unfortunately, Smith gives serious subjects like rape and eating disorders flat treatment. Secondary characters remain underdeveloped. The slow beginning ramps up as the author reveals more about Annabeth's background. VERDICT An additional purchase for collections where dark, realistic fiction is popular.-DeHanza Kwong, Mililani Public Library, HI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 In her sophomore effort, Smith looks at a friendship with the intensity of a romantic relationship. Since ninth grade, Annabeth has kept a secret so close to her chest that she's suffocating from it: she was conceived from a rape. The one ray of light breaking through the darkness is her friendship with Noe, a charismatic gymnast, but even that begins to slip away as the two girls confront senior year and the prospect of going to separate colleges. As the weight of Annabeth's secrets drags her down, an unwanted pregnancy and abortion add further problems and strain to the friendship. Despite the exploration of serious and dark topics, Smith writes with a light touch. Annabeth's spare first-person narrative will tug at readers' hearts with an intense, palpable yearning for connection and friendship, which she finds in Noe's boyfriend, Steven, who has struggles of his own. Short chapters and lucid, inventive prose make these tough topics accessible without shortchanging them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2015
Annabeth Schultz was only thirteen years old when her mother revealed a difficult family secret: Annabeth's absentee father wasn't a one-night stand; he was a rapist. Discovering she was half-monster unmoored Annabeth and set off a spiral of self-destructive thoughts and behaviors, until she met Noe -- a self-assured and protective girl who becomes a vital emotional mainstay. Annabeth begins her story three years later, when high school graduation is looming and she is holding tightly to her and Noe's daydreamed plans to attend college together. When Noe slips out of their arrangement, Annabeth is finally forced to step out of her best friend's shadow and decide what kind of future she wants for herself. With brief, vignette-like chapters and arrestingly vivid language, Smith (Wild Awake, rev. 5/13) draws readers deeply into Annabeth's life during a pivotal year. Along with an unraveling friendship, Annabeth also confronts teen pregnancy, abortion, depression, and eating disorders; issues that Smith weaves into the narrative with a delicate, natural hand. Annabeth's attempts to handle her increasingly complicated life are faltering and often painful, but her journey toward a stable, positive sense of self is a hopeful one. An intimate, understated, and compelling coming-of-age story. jessica tackett macdonald

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2015
Annabeth's discovery that her father was a rapist sets off a spiral of self-destruction; new friend Noe became an emotional mainstay. Now three years later, Noe slips out of the girls' arrangement to attend college together, forcing Annabeth to decide what kind of future she wants for herself. Vignette-like chapters and vivid language draw readers into this intimate, compelling coming-of-age story.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)