About the Author

BETH ANN BAUMAN is the author of Beautiful Girls, a short story collection for adults, Rosie and Skate, and is the recipient of a New York Foundaton for the Arts Fellowship. Growing up, she spent summers on the Jersey shore. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, March 19, 2012:
One can almost smell salt and sunscreen in the air in this soulful and insightful coming-of-age story.
Review, The New York Times Book Review, May 13, 2012:
Whatever the resolution to Angel s story, it is clear that with Bauman whether she s Judy Blume s successor or not the genre is in good hands. "

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, March 19, 2012:
One can almost smell salt and sunscreen in the air in this soulful and insightful coming-of-age story.
Review, The New York Times Book Review, May 13, 2012:
Whatever the resolution to Angel s story, it is clear that with Bauman whether she s Judy Blume s successor or not the genre is in good hands. "

Gr 9 Up-Angel Cassonetti exists in the moment. Given a lot of freedom by her mother, the 17-year-old lives by herself in one of her family's Jersey Shore rental properties during the off-season, but she drinks and hooks up even when she's living with her family during the summer. She's never really paid attention in school or worried much about the future, unlike her friend Inggy, who's college-bound. But the summer before her senior year, when Inggy leaves for college visits and Angel's longtime, on-again-off-again boyfriend, Joey, says it's off for good, she finds herself wondering what comes next-and getting much too close to Inggy's boyfriend, Cork. While seemingly aimed at fans of raunchy reality television, this novel is Jersey Shore with heart. Bauman sometimes trips with awkward, scattered dialogue, and most of her secondary characters are stereotypes (the flighty mother, the perfect best friend, the sensitive ex-boyfriend), but Angel herself grows from flat to nuanced. Readers looking for a role model won't find it in her, but as she sees the effects of her freewheeling lifestyle (she's embarrassed by her failed attempt to take the SATs, hurt by classmates imagining her in a dead-end job after high school, and horrified after she discovers her mother kissing Cork), she promises herself that, "when I'm Mom's age, I'm going to know when to stop being a girl," and then realizes that her maturation must start now. Through it all, Angel remains her own person, independent, unashamed of enjoying sex, and determined to find her own way.-Gretchen Kolderup, New Canaan Library, CT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

It's the summer before her senior year and 17-year-old Angel-who lives on a New Jersey resort island-finds herself contemplating life, comparing herself to her overachieving and beautiful best friend, trying to win back her ex-boyfriend, hooking up with other boys, and learning to keep secrets. In this audio edition, Jaclyn Gaines forgoes a strong New Jersey accent-except in the dialogue of a minor character or two-and turns in fun, engaging performance. She lends Angel a youthful voice that's perfect for the teenage girl. At times, Gaines could do more to distinguish between the book's other characters-some of the voices she creates are indistinguishable during dialogue. Still, Gaines's narration has momentum, and listeners will surely stick around until the end, wondering what the future holds for Angel. Ages 14-up. A Wendy Lamb hardcover. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.