Seventeen year old Finn Easton suffers from epilepsy, but he meets and falls in love with a new girl, Julia. Unfortunately, Julia's move to Finn's California neighborhood is short-lived and she moves back to her old hometown in Chicago. Finn is devastated when she leaves, but agrees to continue with his plans to go on a road trip with his best friend, Cade to check out a college campus. A life-threatening event during the road trip changes both boys' minds about this college and they decide instead to visit Julia in Chicago, where she and Colin agree to maintain a long-distance relationship.
Because of the frequent use of profane language and sexual references within this book, I would recommend this read to high schoolers. I really appreciate the first-person perspective of someone who experiences seizures. I have a student who experiences seizures in my class this year, and even though seizure experiences are varied, I feel like I have an idea of what it might be like. Many kids will either applaud or abhor the carefree attitude and humor Finn's friend Cade brings to the story. Either way, Cade is a very memorable character that most readers will be able to find amongst their own school populations. This realistic fiction novel is such a satisfying read. Finn and Cade matter-of-fact, humorous take on the life and times of seventeen year old males will give male readers someone to bond with and female readers a glimpse into the male mystique. The narrative accurately reflects high school life from the lame requests of administrators to the shenanigans of the top dogs of the school. Smith wraps up the story well, and the reader can leave the book knowing that Finn and Cade are going to be OK.
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