The Lighter Side of Life and Death

Life is pretty crazy for junior Mason Rice. He has just finished performing in the school play, and after leaving the cast party with his longtime crush Kat Medina, they go all the way (the first time for both of them), but she is so uncomfortable about the line they have crossed that it threatens to damage their friendship irreparably. On the home front, his father's fiancée and her two children move in, and while Mason gets along with six-year-old Burke, thirteen-year-old Brianna is surly and difficult. Amid all this turmoil, he begins seeing twenty-three-year-old Colette, and what begins as a series of flirtatious advance-and-retreats quickly develops into a torrid love affair. Mason adjusts to the new dynamics at home; the relationship with Colette comes to an abrupt end after three weeks; and he rebuilds—and improves—things with Kat. While all of the characters are well-rounded and sympathetic, Mason is unusually sensitive and Colette remains something of an enigma. If Mason is never quite convincing as an authentically male narrator, the complicated romantic entanglements of the plot will surely intrigue and satisfy readers who like character-driven relationship books. JONATHAN HUNT