The Year of Luminous Love

Gr 8 Up—While this novel lacks substance and the characters are stereotypical, readers who clamor for pure escapist chick lit might like it. The plot centers on the friendship and growing pains of three friends in Tennessee trying to figure out what to do with their lives after high school. Ciana's once-prominent family now has little money since her father and grandfather died in a plane crash. Her grandmother is near death and her mother is an alcoholic, so Ciana runs the family's massive property. Arie has a huge family and no money, and has been battling cancer off and on since she was five years old. Eden's mother is bipolar and left Eden to raise herself through much of her formative years. Eden is attached to Tony, who is a drug lord and very controlling. Arie is infatuated with Jon Mercer, a horse trainer, but Ciana met him and the two became attached before Ciana knew about Arie's crush. Instead of starting college in the fall, Ciana decides to take her friends to Italy for three months to help Eden escape Tony and give Arie her dream of travel and art. This slight, accessible story will tempt teens seeking a dramatic summer read.—Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson, LA