Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles (reviewed by Alanna Cover)

Another majorly spoiler-y (and majorly epic!) review from Alanna, huzzah!

Caleb hit Maggie. Caleb hit Maggie with car. Caleb go to jail. Maggie stay in hospital. Caleb wants everything go back to normal. Maggie want go to Spain. I stop Caveman talk. Now.

When Caleb is released from prison, he's back to Paradise, back to school, back to his sexy girlfriend, Kendra, back to his old buds, and back to his family. But, when he's back, he figures out that it's nothing that he remembered, or would ever remember. School moved on without him, his best friend is dating Kendra, and his family is so whack: his twin sister is totally emo, and his mom is overdosing on her depression meds.

CRAP! What's Caleb to do? For now, he lives like it was... and Kendra has something deep in mind for him.

Maggie? Well... everything has changed for her too. An avid tennis player, she gets home from the hospital with a leg that she can hardly walk on. Ugly scars cover it, and she fears she'll never get anywhere in life. That's why she's decided to leave, everything has changed around her, she's lost all of her close friends, she's a loner, and her mom is... a bit protective. But life has different plans for her. Her scholarship wasn't accepted for the college she wanted to attend. Life sorta crashes around her at that point, because Caleb comes back, and for one, she's terrified of him. And then she's more ignored at school. Then a nice lady, her mother's boss' mother, offers to give her a job to pay for college. Maggie agrees.

Caleb, basically having to go to his community service after school everyday is given a job, to help a the same lady, Maggie and Caleb have to work together for a few weeks. Maggie planting bulbs, and Caleb building a gazebo. One day, he gets into a fight on the way to the bus stop because a couple of guys dissed Maggie. Because Maggie and Caleb were best friends before, Caleb feels the same as he ever did. It was an accident, he didn't mean to. Then things go crazy with Maggie's life, her mom starts to date Mr. Reynolds, Maggie's boss's son. (confusing, huh?) ANYWAYS!! She freaks out... and calls her dad. Who doesn't care. Like, reeaally doesn't care. She loses it, and the first number her fingers dial is her ex-best friend, person-who-hit-her-with-car... isn't that enough information? She calls Caleb, they meet, and she pours her heart out to the boy who hit her with his car... and then he kisses her. WHOAH!!! It was so cute though. :3 Eh... but she runs. Anyways, on the bus the next day, they sit on the bus together again, and they hold haands. and this and that and they keep working... and then when EVERYTHING goes perfectly..

Mrs. Reynolds dies, Caleb learns he isn't supposed to have any relation with Maggie, Kendra corners Caleb in the hall (after deciding for them both that they have a secret relationship. ooh la la-NOT. it was kinda ewwie tho.. >_<) and makes him say that he doesn't like Maggie, who is behind him, who slaps him, and the perfect relationship is over. But then Maggie figures something out. She becomes strong. And with that, she's determined to stay and finish high school and figure everything else out later. Caleb leaves his whacked up house (he was gonna be kicked out sooner or later, anyways...), and they meet on the road where it all happened, Maggie realizes that Caleb didn't hurt her. It was Leah, Caleb's twin sister, who couldn't take what happened, and Caleb, being a good brother, took the blame for hitting her. Caleb says goodbye, he is Leaving Paradise. Probably for good. And thus ends the story. It killed me. CLIFF-HANGERS FAIL!!!! D= That's that. End of Leaving Paradise... go home children, nothing else to see... BUT WAIT!! What is that I see in the near horizon of September? No.. IT CAN'T BE!! IT'S THE SEQUEL TO LEAVING PARADISE!!! :O Can't wait :3

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Simone Elkeles is the BEST! Click here to check our catalog to see if Leaving Paradise is on the shelves.

Alanna reviewed Leaving Paradise as part of our special summer promotion: review a book and get the ADVANCE READING COPY (ARC) of the sequel, giving her a chance to read it MONTHS before it was released! How did Alanna find out about this amazing promotion?! She's signed up for the library's teen e-mail list, so she gets to hear about all the latest news, promotions, programs, and events first. Want to be on the list? Send us an e-mail at ysweb @ lacnm dot us to get added! You can also hear about what's happening by visiting the library's teen website!