How to Love

August 19, 2013
There’s a big gap between where 18-year-old Reena Montero expected to be and where she is. Instead of studying journalism at Northwestern after graduating from high school a year early, she’s living with her parents in hot, sticky Florida, taking courses at the local community college and caring for her toddler, Hannah. It’s not what Reena planned, but she’s making the best of it. Then her one love—Hannah’s father, Sawyer LeGrande—comes back to town. In a confident debut, Cotugno structures Reena’s story in alternating “before” and “after” chapters that explain how Reena and Sawyer got together, what brought them to where they are now, and where they could end up, maybe, if they can push through a tangle of guilt, anger, and complicated family connections. Cotugno draws even the minor characters well, and although Sawyer, as a reformed bad boy, is something of a stock figure, Reena is complex and appealing. It’s impossible not to root for the two of them to beat the odds. Ages 14–up. Agent: Alloy Entertainment.

September 1, 2013
Fifteen-year-old Reena dreams of graduating early from high school and studying at Northwestern to become a travel writer, but all that takes a back seat when her forever crush, Sawyer LeGrande, turns his green-eyed gaze on her. Reena, a self-professed ice queen, has managed to keep her feelings about Sawyer to herself, but when he begins dating her best friend, Allie, everything comes rushing to the surface. A tragic event nearly derails Reena and Sawyer's romance before it can begin, but an irresistible chemistry pulls them together despite their sorrow. Reena falls fast and hard for Sawyer, but he is caught in a downward spiral of addiction that threatens to pull both of them under. Believing a separation is best for them both, Sawyer disappears for two years, leaving Reena alone and pregnant. "Before" chapters chronicle Reena and Sawyer's tumultuous romance, while "After" chapters tell of Sawyer's return and Reena's simultaneous attempts to punish him or forgive him. The clunky back-and-forth construction robs the story of its heart, throwing Reena's emotional stagnation and Sawyer's complete turnaround into question. The undeniably passionate relationship feels as flat and immature in the end as when it began. Ambitious, but sadly disconnected and undeveloped. (Fiction. 14 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Fifteen-year-old Reena dreams of graduating early from high school and studying at Northwestern to become a travel writer, but all that takes a back seat when her forever crush, Sawyer LeGrande, turns his green-eyed gaze on her. Reena, a self-professed ice queen, has managed to keep her feelings about Sawyer to herself, but when he begins dating her best friend, Allie, everything comes rushing to the surface. A tragic event nearly derails Reena and Sawyer's romance before it can begin, but an irresistible chemistry pulls them together despite their sorrow. Reena falls fast and hard for Sawyer, but he is caught in a downward spiral of addiction that threatens to pull both of them under. Believing a separation is best for them both, Sawyer disappears for two years, leaving Reena alone and pregnant. "Before" chapters chronicle Reena and Sawyer's tumultuous romance, while "After" chapters tell of Sawyer's return and Reena's simultaneous attempts to punish him or forgive him. The clunky back-and-forth construction robs the story of its heart, throwing Reena's emotional stagnation and Sawyer's complete turnaround into question. The undeniably passionate relationship feels as flat and immature in the end as when it began. Ambitious, but sadly disconnected and undeveloped. (Fiction. 14 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Sawyer LaGrande's unexplained disappearance rocked Serena Montero's world. It was love at first sight, and then he ran away and left her pregnant. Now he's back in town and ready to pick up where they left off. Serena, however, has a steady boyfriend and is now the mother of a two-year-old. She had to repair her broken heart and make peace with her very Catholic father, who does not approve of her out-of-wedlock child. She is older and wiser, but Sawyer was the love of her life. Will she make the same mistake twice? The language and content of this novel will appeal to teens, but the structure is an issue. Every other chapter is a flashback, making the plot seem choppy and disjointed. The portrayal of a Catholic Hispanic family in modern-day Florida is refreshing, but the shuffling between the present and the past may make it hard for readers to lose themselves in the characters. The story's mood is rather depressing; Serena deals with the death of her mother, the death of her best friend, Sawyer's abandonment, her child, her family's disapproval, and her father's heart attack. Yet, despite her struggles, she is still able to find her silver lining at the end of the story. How to Love may not appeal to a wide audience, but patrons who read and enjoyed Jamie McGuire's Beautiful Disaster (S & S, 2012) will find Sawyer and Serena's frustrating relationship familiar.-Jeni Tahaney, Duncanville High School Library, TX

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
Reena and Sawyer have a complicated past, and with Sawyer back in town after unexplained years away, they have a complicated present, too. Alternating between before and after Sawyer left, their love story involves a death, a baby, and lots of family conflict. The strong writing is showcased best in the cerebral dialogue, although the disjointed movement between timelines interrupts the story's flow.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 15, 2013
Grades 9-12 The before: responsible 16-year-old Reena pushes to graduate from high school early so that she can get the hell out of Florida and attend Northwestern. But Sawyer LeGrande, a boy who has been in Reena's life foreverand who she has loved foreverfinally notices her. After a few months of dating, troubled Sawyer disappears and Reena discovers she is pregnant. The after: Sawyer returns after several years away, and it turns out he still stirs something in Reena that can't be ignored. The Before and After chapters alternate and can be summed up by the following: I didn't understand what I had with Sawyer: I couldn't figure out how he could make me so happy and so miserable all at once. Cotugno's debut ambitiously, and intriguingly, follows a couple who fall in love twice, over two different time periods. But Sawyer and Reena don't appear to change much, and their constant arguing may leave readers wondering whyother than a clear physical attraction and a shared daughterthe past appears to be repeating itself. Still, the compelling voices of the characters and strong writing should carry readers along.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)