Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr.  Little, Brown Young Readers, 2008. 224 p. 978-0316014557 $16.99

Jennifer Harris is made fun of at school, she is overweight and gets picked on by her peers.  She has one friend, Cameron Quick, who is also an outcast.  He arrives at her school in the second grade and the two become inseperable.  Their friendship comes to a hault in the fifth grade on Jennifer’s birthday; a birthday she spends the rest of her life trying to forget.   

Cameron takes her to his house, to give her a present that he made for her.  They are greeted by his step-father who threatens them to do as he says. Jennifer and Cameron are able to escape, but Cameron stops, telling his best-friend to run home.  It is the last time that Jennifer ever see’s Cameron.  He disappears without saying goodbye.  Her mother and teacher confirm that Cameron has died and for years she believes them, until one day she receives a letter from Cameron Quick and realizes the truth.

Now Jennifer is in high school, known as Jenna to her friends.  She is skinny and popular and has put the past behind her.  But she never forgot about Cameron.  He never forgot Jennifer either, and had been keeping tabs on her since he left  town.  What they learn is that their friendship is not the same, that the time they spent apart has created a barrier between them.  He is leery to trust others and struggles with the new Jenna and her new friends.  She resents him for not contacting her over the years and realizes with his return that the true Jennifer is hidden somewhere underneath her new identity as Jenna.

In this coming of age story, we meet two friends, who are able to break the barrier time has created between them and remain friends.  Jenna finds the courage to break up with her boyfriend and be more of herself than the girl she’s been trying to be.  She finds herself again with the help of Cameron who disappears again, but this time he does send a letter explaining his absense, and the reader hopes that someday these two “sweathearts” will reunite.

The cover is white with a pink heart-shaped cookie in the center that is half-eaten.  It will appeal to teenage girls who enjoy novels with a chick lit feel. 

Realistic Fiction 3Q, 3P (grades 6-9)