Susan says: Rowena goes with her mother to Australia for a year while her mother works as an educational consultant. In the first few weeks she is there, she meets a boy named Patrick, who seems to show up and disappear at will. And he takes her to amazing places - rose gardens, beaches with no one on them, waterfalls, places that could not possibly be around the corner from where they are standing, and yet it takes two steps to get there. It's all very confusing, and as time goes on, Rowena finds herself more and more entranced with this boy and his mystery. Her mom is also pretty unavailable, so it takes Rowena's best friend from America, Hallie, to shed a light on what's happening to her. This book has a creepy element, as Patrick seems to always know where she is, and it also has a fantasy element. I'm not sure teens would really 'get' the explanation Patrick gives for what he is - a doppelganger for a creative boy who has had a serious trauma in his life, but I think they would enjoy the romance of the rest of the book and chalk Patrick up to being some sort of a ghost. ( )

Another failure in my quest to find another book like Twilight. The description sounded promising:

All-American girl, Rowena - Ro - Maven, isn't completely excited when her Mother, Dr. Mold, informs her that the two of them will be heading to Sydney, Australia for a year, so that she can conduct a series of lectures in the great Down Under. However, Ro knows that she can try to make the best of it. After all, there are sure to be tons of hot guys with abs of steel, who surf daily along the beach in the bright sunshine. But boy is she wrong. In fact, everything in Aussie is completely boring - or gross, meaning the Roach Hotel she's forced to stay in - until she meets Patrick Carroll, who sppears out of nowhere one day. Soon, Ro has her very own boyfriend, but there's something strange about Patrick. In the blink of an eye the two of them are transported to secluded areas where they exchange ethereal kisses. But the strangest fact is that no one but Ro can even see Patrick, and she can't tell anyone about him, making her think that she could be imagining his presence completely. Then she does the ultimate wrong-doing. She tells her best friend Hallie, and suddenly he's gone. Leaving her to do nothing more than guess about where he could possibly have gone.

Sadly, this story works better as a summary than an actual book. The writing is very poor and feels like a first effort. The romance between Ro and Partrick was really bizarre. Patrick comes across as creepy and stalkerish. The real issue I had with this book was the explanation for Patrick; It was ridiculous and unsatisfying. ( )