Amazon.com Review
It's the Crutchfields v. the Malones in this lush
Romeo and Juliet story about two related California families that have hated each other for generations, even though (or perhaps because) they own adjacent tracks of ocean-view land. Like the rest of her family, 17-year-old Kait Malone blames the Crutchfields for everything, particularly now that her father's in jail for killing Robert Crutchfield in what the Malones claim was an accident. Money is short, because the Malones refuse to sell any of their land, so Kait and her sister must transfer to the public high school under assumed names. And then the unthinkable happens: Kait falls head over heels in love with a beautiful boy named Bram--who turns out to be a Crutchfield. As their romance deepens, Kait's lies about her identity grow ever more complicated. She clings to her conviction that the Crutchfields are monsters--except for Bram--although this belief grows harder and harder to sustain as she meets his family. When Bram's mother loans her the crumbling journals of one of the two sisters who began the feud, Kait finds the truth is a source of compassion. Yet she still postpones her revelation to Bram, as tension builds and the situation finally escalates out of her control. But all ends well, and teen romantics will heave a satisfied sigh at the happily-ever-after ending. (Ages 12 and older)
--Patty Campbell
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Drawing on the all-too-familiar theme of young lovers from warring families, Pearson (David v. God) recounts the relationship between Kaitlin, a high school senior who keeps a journal, and her more well-to-do artist-boyfriend, Bram. Borrowed diaries reveal to Kaitlin that the two California families are related five generations back, when two sisters became estranged as the result of a marital infidelity. More recently, Kaitlin's father is accused of killing Bram's father, perhaps accidentally, in a feud over rights to their neighboring properties and, further straining credibility, Kaitlin manages to win Bram over by concealing her identity. The whole maudlin tale is never fully sorted out and, in a highly unlikely denouement, Kaitlin gives a confused speech to her class about escaping the past and being honest. This seems to win back Bram, who says, "I never did care much for history." The story also suffers from repetitiveness (readers are reminded many times that Kaitlin is a "proud Malone") and the writing is filled with platitudes and clich‚d writing ("my footsteps kept time with my beating heart"). Heavy on formula, it seems more like a romance novel than a trenchant adolescent love story. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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