Publishers Weekly
02/09/2015
Molly Barlow has a complicated history with the Donnelly siblings: Patrick was her first love, but then she hooked up with his brother, Gabe, enraging sister Julia, Molly’s onetime friend. Making matters worse, her mother wrote a thinly veiled bestselling novel about Molly’s love triangle with the brothers, which resulted in Molly skipping town to attend boarding school. Now she’s back in Star Lake and taking abuse from all sides—except from Gabe and Tess, Patrick’s current girlfriend. Soon, Molly and Gabe’s romance has reignited, even as she’s getting dirty looks from his family, hanging out with Tess, and going running with Patrick. Setting her novel over the “99 days” of summer before Molly starts college, Cotugno (How to Love) explores the powerful bonds that arise between childhood friends who grow up to discover romance, as well as the intense rivalry between brothers. Societal double standards that label girls as promiscuous while boys get off scot-free are front and center in a thought-provoking story that will leave readers thinking about the guilt and shame that are often unfairly attached to sex. Ages 13–up. Agency: Alloy Entertainment. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Praise for 9 DAYS AND 9 NIGHTS: “A sequel that’s just as compulsively readable as the first.” — Booklist
Praise for 9 DAYS AND 9 NIGHTS: “With realistic depictions of complicated, imperfect personalities, this book will be enjoyed by fans of … Sarah Dessen and E. Lockhart.” — School Library Journal
Praise for TOP TEN: “A winning, highly readable exploration of different kinds of love.” — Booklist
Praise for TOP TEN: “Endearing and refreshing” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for TOP TEN: “Sensitive and honest...will appeal to fans of Rainbow Rowell” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Praise for TOP TEN: “A good choice for most YA shelves.” — School Library Journal
Praise for FIREWORKS: “A compelling portrait of the intimacies of close girl friendships …and a romance as hot as the midsummer Orlando sun” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for FIREWORKS: “Cotugno hits the nail on the head when exploring female friendship and the difficulties surrounding life in the spotlight. This devourable novel will appeal to those interested in the creation of fame, but also to any girl on the cusp of change.” — Booklist
Praise for FIREWORKS: “[A] fast-paced drama about the significance of authentic friendship and romance.” — School Library Journal
Praise for FIREWORKS: “A thrilling, intense read...this book will hook readers.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Praise for 99 DAYS: “This book will appeal to fans of E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks (Hyperion, 2008), offering complex characters, plot twists, and an insightful look at society’s double standards.” — School Library Journal
Praise for 99 DAYS: “A thought-provoking story...[that] explores the powerful bonds that arise between childhood friends who grow up to discover romance” — Publishers Weekly
Praise for 99 DAYS: “Molly’s a totally engaging, multi-faceted character…A fascinating story of adolescent love and betrayal.” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for 99 DAYS: “A complicated, compelling summer romance…and a whole lot of kissing make[s] this one to stick in the beach bag.” — Carolyn Mackler, winner of the Printz Honor and bestselling author of THE FUTURE OF US
Praise for HOW TO LOVE: “HOW TO LOVE is epic. I crushed so hard on this book. A roller coaster ride with all the euphoric highs and the stomach-dropping lows of falling in love. The writing is as beautiful as the love story. I adored it!” — Siobhan Vivian, author of THE LIST
Praise for HOW TO LOVE: “A vibrant, sparkling narrative of first love and second chances - will remind you that love isn’t ever easy, but falling for a great story is.” — Entertainment Weekly
Praise for HOW TO LOVE: “[In this] confident debut...it’s impossible not to root for the two of them to beat the odds.” — Publishers Weekly
Praise for HOW TO LOVE: “Cotugno’s debut ambitiously, and intriguingly, follows a couple who fall in love twice, over two different time periods.” — Booklist
Praise for HOW TO LOVE: “Readers looking for a story of whirlwind passion…and a happily-ever-after drive into the sunset will not be disappointed.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Booklist
Praise for 9 DAYS AND 9 NIGHTS: “A sequel that’s just as compulsively readable as the first.”
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Praise for TOP TEN: “Sensitive and honest...will appeal to fans of Rainbow Rowell
Booklist
Praise for 9 DAYS AND 9 NIGHTS: “A sequel that’s just as compulsively readable as the first.”
Siobhan Vivian
Praise for HOW TO LOVE: “HOW TO LOVE is epic. I crushed so hard on this book. A roller coaster ride with all the euphoric highs and the stomach-dropping lows of falling in love. The writing is as beautiful as the love story. I adored it!
Entertainment Weekly
Praise for HOW TO LOVE: “A vibrant, sparkling narrative of first love and second chances - will remind you that love isn’t ever easy, but falling for a great story is.
Carolyn Mackler
Praise for 99 DAYS: “A complicated, compelling summer romance…and a whole lot of kissing make[s] this one to stick in the beach bag.
School Library Journal
02/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Molly Barlow is back in her hometown near the Catskill Mountains. A year ago, Molly fled to a faraway boarding school in the wake of a disastrous betrayal that left her the most hated girl in town. Now that she's back, all of her fears are justified—the girls who used to be her friends want nothing to do with her, especially not the Donnelly siblings, who used to be her closest friends. The teen plans to lie low and wait out the rest of the summer until she can escape and start over in college. She is getting used to all the bullying, when the arrival of the two Donnelly boys turns her world upside-down. Patrick, Molly's first boyfriend, has a new girlfriend who doesn't seem to hate Molly despite her past transgressions. And Gabe is there for her when nobody else seems to care if she exists. When Gabe wants to spark up a romance, Molly starts to feel like she may be able to right some wrongs and put her past behind her. But things are never simple, and Molly finds herself dreading as well as clamoring for the 99 days of summer to be over. This coming-of-age story is dramatic and wickedly funny, and the protagonist's voice will speak to any teen facing an uncertain future. VERDICT This book will appeal to fans of E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks (Hyperion, 2008), offering complex characters, plot twists, and an insightful look at society's double standards.—Tara Kron, School Library Journal
Kirkus Reviews
2015-01-10
A teenage girl spends the summer doing penance for her romances with two boys. The problem was—and still is—they're brothers.Molly's summer of 99 days looks bleak. Because of her indiscretions, her relationship with her best friend is strained, she's ostracized by her peers, and she feels like she's lost her second family, the Donnellys. She's also resentful of her fiction-writer mother, who spilled the beans by making a best-seller out of Molly's confession of impropriety to her. And now, after her senior year away at a boarding school, Molly's back in her hometown, trying her best to hide out before she leaves for college. The first night back, Julia Donnelly, protective sister of Molly's love interests, brothers Gabe and Patrick, eggs her house. Molly soon runs into Gabe and tentatively starts seeing him while trying her best to avoid run-ins with Patrick, whom she left brokenhearted. But when she sees Patrick with a girlfriend, she is discombobulated by her own feelings; she struggles with twin guilts: from hurting him as well as her own desires. Molly's emotional growth is the strong propeller of the plot; she's a totally engaging, multifaceted character. Kind and with a quirky sense of humor, she's also precociously stalwart in the face of Julia's unrelenting torment and others' constant scrutiny. Drama-filled flashbacks fill in the dots of the back story. A fascinating story of adolescent love and betrayal. (Romance. 13 & up)
