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by Ann Jacobus
Haunting and beautifully written, with a sharp and distinctive voice that could belong only to this character, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unforgettable young adult novel.
Summer Barnes just moved to Paris to repeat her senior year of high school. After being kicked out of four boarding schools, she has to get on the right track or she risks losing her hefty inheritance. Summer is convinced that meeting the right guy will solve everything. She meets two. Moony, a classmate, is recovering against all odds from a serious car accident, and he encourages Summer to embrace life despite how hard it can be to make it through even one day. But when Summer meets Kurt, a hot, mysterious older man who she just can't shake, he leads her through the creepy underbelly of the city-and way out of her depth.
When Summer's behavior manage to alienate everyone, even Moony, she's forced to decide if a life so difficult is worth living. With an ending that'll surprise even the most seasoned reader, Ann Jacobus' Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unputdownable and utterly compelling novel.
"The short chapters will appeal to reluctant readers, and the seamless pacing makes this book hard to put down. Grade 9+." - School Library Journal
"As Summer struggles with alcohol dependency and contemplates suicide, readers will grit their teeth in the hope that Moony will win the romantic tug-of-war with Kurt in time to help Summer see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ages 14–up." - Publishers Weekly
"Jacobus has done a wonderful job of helping the reader experience Paris through her words." - VOYA
"Summer's real troubles are marred by the inclusion of fantastical Kurt and the predictably pat ending. Fiction, 14-18." - Kirkus
This information about Romancing the Dark in the City of Light was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ann Jacobus graduated from Dartmouth College, and earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She's published short fiction, essays and poetry and blogs regularly about writing and YA. Jacobus lives in San Francisco and Chappaquiddick with her family. Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is her first novel.
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