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Melanie Hooyenga
Author
Chasing the Sun
The new boy. The quiet girl. Will they find love during the solar eclipse? Neb Connelly has looked forward to the solar eclipse for as long as he can remember. When his only friend in his new town invites him on a school camping trip to watch it, he’s there. And only 67% of his wanting to go is because of the quiet girl on the group text his friend started. She gets his jokes, doesn’t mind when he geeks out about the eclipse, and for the first time in months, he’s ready to chase more than the sun. Recently single Sage Winters fears she’s too damaged for love, but her self-help-loving best friend drags her on a “path of self-healing” — which apparently includes going camping with twenty classmates to see the solar eclipse. And Neb, who she’s never met but whose silly space jokes turn her insides to mush, will be there. But when they finally meet in person, another girl stakes her claim on him. Does Sage run the other way to save her heart, or risk it all for a chance at happiness with this space boy? Book one in the Campfire Series, Chasing the Sun, is a lighthearted romance with space puns, Portland shenanigans, and enough feels to totally eclipse your heart.
Plot/Idea: 8 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Prose: 9 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 8.25 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot: Hooyenga's cathartic teen romance centers around two outsiders who readers will embrace individually while eagerly awaiting their coming together during a solar eclipse.

Prose: Effective dialogue and honest introspection drive this quiet story of a burgeoning relationship.

Originality: Hooyenga's grasp of teen voices is decidedly authentic and the novel uniquely focuses on the small moments of attraction.

Character/Execution: Hooyenga effectively builds romantic tension between the protagonists, while their individual struggles are sensitively conveyed. Side characters are particularly endearing and layered, and allow for the central relationship to gain sharper focus and significance.

Date Submitted: August 20, 2020

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