*REVIEW* Waiting for You

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? In Waiting For You, this third romantic novel from Susane Colasanti, Marisa learns how to “be in the Now” and realizes that the love she’s been waiting for has been right in front of her all along.

Waiting for You is my favorite Susane Colasanti book BY FAR. I've always been a little on the fence with her books, but this one was really, really good. Even though I am well removed from high school, I was completely able to relate to this book and what all of the characters were going through. And even though you could smell the ending coming a mile away, I still found the journey to the end entertaining, engaging, and well worth the ride.

Waiting for You introduces us to Marisa, a sophomore in high school, who is waiting for her first boyfriend. Her best friend, Sterling, and her have decided that this will be the year that their lives truly begin, and having a relationship is the ultimate goal. Marisa had suffered the previous year from a serious case of depression and anxiety and wants to make sure that she stays stable and happy. If only she could have predicted the things that would happen that would test that goal more than she ever thought possible...

See, Marisa's life is falling apart. Her perfect parents are separating, and while she finally got her dream boyfriend, she's finding that their relationship is far from ideal. She's also worried about Sterling who has decided that online dating is the way to go. The one bright spot in her existence is her renewed friendship with her neighbor, Nash. Nash seems to understand her better than anyone and the nights they spend hanging out together keep her sane more than anything else. There's also Dirk, an online DJ who seems to speak right to her soul on his nightly show. Who is Dirk and how does he know just what to say to make her feel better?

This book was SO good. For the first time ever, I truly connected with Colasanti's story and I felt myself rooting for Marisa and hoping to see her find the happiness she craves. I think anyone could relate to Marisa... the pain, the longing, the insecurities... most teenagers experience these emotions on an almost daily basis. Colasanti captures the difficulty of adolescence brilliantly. In addition to that, I simply loved these characters! Marisa, Nash, Sterling, Derek, Sandra, Marisa's parents, they ALL had something interesting about them, something that made me want to know more. I think it's a sign of a really good book when even the B-list characters are intriguing!

If you're like me and had previously read a Colasanti book that didn't really impress you, please don't let that keep you from picking up Waiting for You. It's really a fantastic book. In fact, I'm thinking about having a Colasanti-themed giveaway so someone else has the opportunity to read it! It's one of those books you really want to pay forward.