The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. Sales’ narrative, rich with diverse music references, reverberates with resilience. The supporting characters are equally well-developed, with the strengths and flaws of real people. Her journey toward acceptance-of others and of herself-is compelling. Elise is a remarkably self-aware character. Her secrets eventually become impossible to maintain, forcing her to come clean about who she is and who she wants to be. When a cyberbully dredges up Elise’s past and begins attacking her via a fraudulent online journal, Elise’s passion for DJ’ing becomes her refuge. The alluring but elusive DJ Char takes her under his wing and helps her develop her talent. Elise begins living a double life, returning each week to Start and learning to DJ. There, she meets a cast of characters who help her begin to see the light at the end of the crushingly dark and seemingly endless tunnel that is high school. When this fails and Elise discovers that she is still the same as she’s always been, she makes a desperate decision-a suicide attempt-that ostracizes her even further.Īfter this incident, Elise takes to walking alone at night, which is how she stumbles across Start, an underground dance party. Her project for sophomore year is to finally fit in. Elise Dembowski is a chronic overachiever.
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