When It Happens

by Susane Colasanti

Overview

At the start of her senior year in high school, Sara wants two things: to get into a top college and to find true love.Tobey also wants two things for his senior year: to win Battle of the Bands and to make Sara fall in love with him. However, a popular jock named Dave moves in on Sara first. But Tobey’s quirky wit and big blue eyes are hard for Sara to ignore. Plus, he gets the little things that matter to her. Can a slacker rock-star wannabe win the heart of a pretty class brain like Sara?

Hilariously and movingly told through Tobey and Sara’s authentic voices, Susane Colasanti’s debut novel sizzles in its portrayal of two young people searching for The One.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440639371
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/01/2008
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	633,003
File size:	820 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Susane Colasanti is the author of When It Happens, Take Me There, and Waiting for You. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author, Susane was a high school Physics and Earth Science teacher for almost ten years. She lives in New York City.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Realistic dialogue, multi-layered characters, musical references and issues that matter most to teens make this story happen. Like Sarah Dessen, Colasanti knows how teens operate." —Kirkus Reviews

"It is a fully satisfying story that will please young adult readers looking for a little romance." —VOYA

Editorial Reviews

In Colasanti's sweet debut, an unlikely pair of high school seniors fall for each other, and learn to handle the ups and downs that come with love. At the start of the book, overachiever Sara starts dating popular Dave, mainly because "after being a nobody for so long, it feels awesome to be a somebody." But when she gets paired up with smart slacker musician Tobey, they instantly connect and Sara realizes true love is "finally happening." Told through the couple's alternating perspectives, the story realistically captures the thrill of first love (Sara realizes that "When I'm with Tobey, an hour seems like a second"). After finding each other, Sara and Tobey must deal with jealous exes as well as their futures (Tobey learns to study, hoping to go to the Manhattan Music Academy and be near Sara at NYU). Readers may find the plot somewhat thin, and secondary story lines remain underdeveloped (e.g., Sara's strained relationship with her mother, who was 16 when Sara was born; her friend Maggie's struggles to deal with her parents' divorce). But the book emulates the feeling that everything but the budding romance slips to the background. Even the delectably hokey scene in which Tobey wins Sara back by standing under her window, holding up his boom box over his head (like John Cusack in her favorite scene from Say Anything) is sure to make readers smile. Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up-In the first chapter, readers find out that Sara is entering her senior year hoping that she'll find "true love." She is encouraged when Dave asks her out. He is part of the in crowd, and she begins to hang out with his friends, at the expense of her relationships with her girlfriends. Next, readers hear from Tobey. He has slept with a couple of girls, but is uncomfortable with that kind of relationship. He thinks Sara is his "real thing," and he asks her friend Laila to help him win her over. Tobey and Sara become partners in music class and find they have much in common. Dave, on the other hand, is a disappointment to her. When he pressures Sara to sleep with him, she finally realizes that she confused her attraction to his good looks and connections with honest feelings. Through alternating chapters, readers get the perspectives of Tobey and Sara about their developing relationship. The easy style of the writing reflects how teens speak, and some of the characters' language is realistically gritty. This is a fun romance with lots of dialogue that, due to the many popular-culture references, will become dated quickly.-Karen Hoth, Marathon Middle/High School, FL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Sara is practicing creative visualization to achieve her goals during senior year; Tobey is practicing in his garage band. Sara imagines her ideal boyfriend as the popular Dave; Tobey considers giving up his slacker ways to win over Sara. In alternating voices, the teens realize that meaningless hook-ups leave them wanting "something real," which they find in each other. Although they seem to be soul mates, Sara and Tobey must overcome jealousy, lies and past sexual encounters with a maturity (and a nod to a popular '80s movie) well beyond most adolescents. Helping them along the way are sympathetic teachers, parents and friends. Realistic dialogue, multi-layered characters, musical references and issues that matter most to teens make this story happen. Like Sarah Dessen, Colasanti knows how teens operate. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews

"Realistic dialogue, multi-layered characters, musical references and issues that matter most to teens make this story happen. Like Sarah Dessen, Colasanti knows how teens operate." —Kirkus Reviews

"It is a fully satisfying story that will please young adult readers looking for a little romance." —VOYA

From the Publisher