Christine Webb

How do you retain memories of a parent gone too soon? This is Skyler's dilemma. Mom was a brilliant astrophysicist who was studying neutron stars when she was killed in an auto accident. It's been Skylar's dream to finish Mom's research, and when an opportunity to compete for a slot on the orbiting space station while the equipment she needs to do that remains in operation, she must act quickly. She also has to keep her application a secret from her father because he's going to react show more negatively. Part of the application is a video. In order to make one, she bulldozes her way into the high school video club and ends up making a deal with Cooper, an aspiring filmmaker. He needs someone to tutor his younger sister in physics so she can remain on the volleyball team. If Skylar agrees, he'll help her make the video. He also needs a really compelling video to gain acceptance at a college famous for their film program.
If only it were so simple. Their concept of a winning video are completely different, and that's further complicated by the growing attraction between them,. It takes a crisis big enough for both to move beyond their romantic and personality issues before they can really see each other and what attracted them in the first place. I greatly enjoyed watching that happen. show less

Asenior in high school learns to live—and live well—with bipolar disorder.

It’s autumn, and the new school year presents a challenge to 18-year-old Natalie Cordova. She has to navigate the college admissions crush and withstand the tireless grind of the gossip mill at school. She also must hide the truth about the near-catastrophic car accident she got into at the beginning of the summer: namely, that it wasn’t really an accident. If anyone at school learns about her bipolar diagnosis show more or the suicide attempt that precipitated it—well, it would spoil her mother’s picture-perfect Christmas card narrative, for one thing. As the pressures of the year mount, the secret grows heavier. There’s the prestigious art show, an opportunity for Natalie to show off her talent and open up the path to art school, and there’s Ella, a classmate who knows too much, says what she thinks, and sticks to Natalie like glue. Worst of all is Ty, a beautiful boy in a baseball cap and Birkenstocks who makes her light up. Achingly truthful, the book sees Natalie through the quagmire of the journey to self-acceptance with humor and insight. Webb works with intelligence and candor to chip away at the stigma that surrounds mental illness. Alongside Natalie, other characters living with differences also find full, loving, and safe lives. Main characters default to White.

Kind, buoyant, and cleareyed. (resources) (Fiction. 13-18)

-Kirkus Review show less