Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti

Title: Waiting for You

Author: Susane Colasanti

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Release Date: May 14, 2009

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Friendship...and falling in love?

At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start, and hopefully her first real boyfriend. Could it be popular, dreamy Derek? Or geeky Nash, who just might have a crush on her? Then there’s the underground, anonymous DJ, whose podcasts are the hottest thing at school and who seems to totally understand Marisa. But she doesn’t know who he is...or does she?

This was my first time reading something by Susane Colasanti and after reading the book, I can say that it won’t be my last. I really enjoyed Waiting For You, it makes a really good summer read. It’s light, enjoyable and a quick read. Had I not been so busy, I would have probably read it all in one sitting. I thought it was the perfect summer read, I just relaxed and enjoyed it the whole time I was reading it.

Marisa has been waiting for a boyfriend for a long time. She has an idea of who she wants him to be: Derek. But Derek has a girlfriend and doesn’t seem to know that Marisa exists. In the meantime, Marisa spends time with Sterling, her best friend who is an amazing cook, and Nash the geeky boy who lives a few houses down. And all of a sudden, Derek breaks up with his girlfriend and starts showing interest in Marisa, who couldn’t be happier. And then there’s Dirk, the late night radio broadcaster who seems to know exactly how Marisa feels, the only problem is she doesn’t know who he is.

Marisa was a great character but I have to admit I would sometimes get annoyed with her. Almost from the start we know she has an anxiety disorder and can sometimes make a bigger deal out of things than she needs to. But then there were other times when I just wanted to tell her to stop over analyzing and over exaggerating everything. Besides that I really liked Marisa, you can tell that she actually wants to get the bigger hand over her problem and actually improve her condition. It wasn’t only about seeing her evolved, but about her being the reason for her evolution and forcing it. Let’s just say I liked her better in the second half of the book because of this.

Nash was such a sweetheart. Right from the beginning you could tell he was in love with Marisa but he was afraid to admit it to her...until he did. The whole length of the book I was rooting for him. I really wanted Marisa to figure out that he’s the one she’s supposed to be with and get over her whole obsession with Derek. I really liked Nash and just like Marisa you really see him evolve and the whole time his motivation is really obvious...and there just may be more to him than meets the eye.

The story was great, I liked how it was divided into the different seasons and how with each season came a different Marisa...or maybe I’m just over interpreting this thanks to having taken so many literature classes. The way it was divided gave it a sort of pace, everything was evenly spaced and the timeline made sense. The story was easy to follow and at times I could predict some of what would happen but at other times I really didn’t see them coming. It was really enjoyable...but that might not mean anything considering most of what I read.

Waiting for You was a great summer read. It doesn’t actually take place in the summer but just how the story is and how it’s written makes it feel like it should be summer the whole length of the book. If you’re looking for a light summer read you should definitely pick up a copy of this book.