Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti

Title: Waiting for You

Author: Susane Colasanti

Ships launched: 504

Pages: 320

Publisher: Speak

Year published: 2009

Genre: coming of age, romance

Synopsis: 

At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, more importantly, a boyfriend. So when the handsome and popular Derek asks her out, Marisa thinks her long wait for happiness is over. But several bumps in the road—including her parents’ unexpected separation, a fight with her best friend, and a shocking disappointment in her relationship with Derek—test Marisa’s ability to maintain her new outlook. Only the anonymous DJ, whose underground podcasts have the school’s ear, seems to understand what Marisa is going through. But she has no idea who he is—or does she?

       At the first glance, Waiting for You seems to be like the average teenage romance novel and in some ways it is. Readers will have no trouble identifying the "mysterious" DJ or figuring out who Marisa ends up with. However, the journey to the end of the story is surprising and satifsying.

  

    Marisa is a normal teenage girl who wants to reinvent herself for her sophomore year but many obstacles stand in her way. A) Her depression/anxiety B) Her parents separation and C) The fight with her BFF Sterling. Marisa finally gets the guy of her dreams but (no surprise) he turns out to be not as great as she thought.  Then there is her friend Nash. Nash is the ultimate geek but sweet and witty. He helps Marisa through her problems it's obvious that he likes her. As the DJ begins his podcast, Marisa identifies with what he says and wonders who he is even though the answer is right in front of her.

    The book was a cute read but some things annoyed me. Some of the language is cliched and most teenage girls don't speak like stupid airheads. Also the plot took awhile to capture my interest. Waiting for You was a sweet, quick read.

+12- Nash is an awesome character and a cute nerd.

- 6- Cliched language was off putting.

- 2- Plot was boring in the beginning.