This Tiny Perfect World by Lauren Gibaldi
Published by HarperTeen on February 27th 2018
ISBN: 0062490079
Pages: 304
Goodreads

This Tiny Perfect World

 

Penny lives in Christmas, Florida and, yes, there is really such a place on the outskirts of Orlando.  She loves her dad, the café that was her mother’s family’s, her best friend, and her boyfriend, Logan.  Up until the summer after her junior year, these have been enough.  But Penny applies for a drama camp, is accepted, and realizes that there is more out there for her to explore.  Through new friends, Sam, Chase, and Jackson, realizing her dad has a new boyfriend, and being cast as the understudy to the character of Laura from The Glass Menagerie, Penny realizes that, while she may end up satisfied to be back in Christmas, there are so many more challenges in the world to be met and conquered.  The author has written a book that is universally readable as young adults wrestle with the question of whether to remain in the safety net of home and the familiar, or to go forth into whatever is out in the world.  This was a fast read and enjoyable.  It is recommended for grades 7-12.

 

Reviewed by Ellen Spring, Oceanside High School, Rockland