Crush

by Carrie Mac

Overview

Because of a moment of indiscretion, Hope's parents send her to New York to spend the summer with her hipster sister while they travel to Thailand. Miserable, Hope ends up meeting Nat, and developing a powerful crush. The only problem is that Nat is a girl. Hope is pretty sure she isn't gay. Or is she? Struggling with new feelings, fitting in and a strange city far from home, Hope finds that love—and acceptance—comes in many different forms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554695973
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	03/01/2006
Series:	Orca Soundings Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	136
Sales rank:	943,788
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Carrie Mac's first novel The Beckoners won the Arthur Ellis YA Award, is a CLA Honour book. She is available for school and library presentations, and has been known to hold the interest of a couple hundred teens where others have failed. Maybe it's the tattoos. For more information, visit www.carriemac.com.

Read an Excerpt

Isn't she fazed by any of this? Does she do this all the time? Make unsuspecting, seemingly straight girls squirm? Or am I making it all up? But making up what? The butterflies are real. The fact that I want to kiss her is real.

Would kissing a girl be different from kissing boys? If all I did was kiss her would that make me queer? Are you queer just for thinking it? Or does doing it make you queer? And what if I don't want to be queer? Do I get a say in this at all?

Editorial Reviews

Gr 8 Up-In Exit Point, 16-year-old Logan died in a car wreck. As he begins to explore the afterlife, he meets up with a guide and his grandmother, who explains that he has choices now just as he did when he was alive. This includes the opportunity to help his younger sister, who is being molested by a family friend. There are consequences for him, but he realizes that saving Amy matters more than anything else. In Crush, 17-year-old Hope stays with her older sister in New York City while her parents spend the summer building a school in Thailand. She soon discovers that Joy dabbles in drugs and alcohol and has a live-in boyfriend. Hope meets up with Nat, who is a lesbian, and she is offered a position as a nanny by a lesbian couple with twins. To her surprise, she discovers that she is attracted to Nat in more than a platonic way, although whether this is just a "crush" or something more serious is not certain as the story ends. In both novels, the plot relies on everything neatly falling into place. The character development lacks subtlety although the teens do have some real issues that they are trying to solve with some reflection and honesty. With their "Dr. Phil" talk-show themes, angst-driven protagonists, and short texts, these slick novels will appeal to reluctant readers who want fast-paced escapist reads.-Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

"An emotionally complex story. Communal living, drug addiction, and, of course, the lesbian content will all be sure-fire discussion points, and these same elements, especially the hot romance, make this an intriguing book for fluent and struggling readers alike."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[A] strong story of love and sexual identity, rooted in well-drawn characters and well-imagined situations."

Quill & Quire

"A bright, lovely novel...well thought out."

Hi-Rise

"This book achieves the goal of providing a provocative storyline with high teen appeal...Recommended."

CM Magazine

I was impressed by this book and how it handled a sensitive and potentially awkward situation.

Resource Links

"Absolutely charming...Mac infuses so much passion and heart into...this witty, entertaining glimpse into one kid’s summer of discovering that 'life is really hard if you’re a person who's alive.'"

Gerogia Straight - John Burns

Absolutely charming...Mac infuses so much passion and heart into...this witty, entertaining glimpse into one kid's summer of discovering that 'life is really hard if you're a person who's alive.'
— John Burns

Gerogia Straight

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Canadian Book Review Annual

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BC Bookworld