Roomies

Starred review from October 7, 2013
Elizabeth Owens, EB for short, lives in New Jersey and is gearing up to head across the country to study landscape architecture at Berkeley in the fall. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Lauren Cole is the oldest of six and an incoming freshman at Berkeley, too—she and EB have been assigned as roommates. EB, thrilled to get to know the girl she’ll be living with, is the first to write, setting off a summer-long correspondence filled with miscommunications and surprisingly intimate connections as the girls vacillate between excitement and anxiety about what the future holds. Zarr (The Lucy Variations) and Altebrando (The Best Night of Your Life) give both protagonists their own, independent stories with drifting best friends, boyfriends dropped, romances sparked, and family problems that reminds readers that not all adults are finished growing up, either. The authors give the story big doses of humor, sensitivity, and sweetness, along with a complex and realistic cast; EB and Lauren’s stories amount to two great novels in one. Ages 12–up. Agent: (for Zarr) Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management; (for Altebrando): David Dunton, Harvey Klinger.

November 1, 2013
Two college roommates begin to influence each other's lives before they even meet in this co-authored contemporary drama. EB Owens is an independent Jersey girl trying to break free of a boyfriend she's outgrown while steering clear of her single mom's messy dating life. Lauren Cole is a San Francisco native who helps out with her five younger siblings while working two jobs and worrying constantly about money. When University of California, Berkley's student-housing office matches them as roommates the summer before freshman year, they begin an email correspondence that leads to confessions, misunderstandings and epiphanies. EB thinks Lauren is too judgmental about her mom's love life, while Lauren is upset when EB accidently reveals a secret to Lauren's best friend in a misfired email. EB is sensitive about her divorced gay dad, while Lauren is touchy about dating a boy from a different race. Even though readers might wonder why these two never avail themselves of Skype, the narrative reliance on email means there is real tension as fall approaches. Will EB and Lauren be able to overcome their differences before their move-in date? The main characters' back stories are engaging, and the large supporting cast of friends and family members (especially Lauren's sweet brothers and sisters) are well-developed and integral to the girls' growth. The novel's deeply embedded theme of transition will have tremendous appeal for any teenager coping with change. (Fiction. 12-18)

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December 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Immediately upon receiving her roommate assignment from UC Berkeley, high school senior Elizabeth can't wait to "introduce" herself with a logistics-heavy email to Lauren. After all, Lauren lives in San Francisco, worlds away from Elizabeth's experience in suburban New Jersey. Unfortunately, Lauren does not receive the roommate assignment with the same enthusiasm. After years of sharing spaces with siblings at least a decade her junior, she bristles at Elizabeth's initial overtures, leading to a rocky start for this relationship. As the weeks pass and the girls share more personal information, the thawing process begins, then stalls, then begins again. By the end of the summer, a tenuous truce has each teen believing that this may work out after all. Zarr and Altebrando use alternating chapters and voices to weave together this tale of roommate matchmaking. The technique lends a tone of authenticity to the story while highlighting the perils of relationships based solely on electronic communications.-Colleen S. Banick, Westport Public Schools, CT

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2013
Grades 9-12 In a classic two-voice YA novel, authors Zarr and Altebrando expose the excitement, uncertainties, and sheer terror high-school graduates experience as they face college. The premisee-mails from the Berkeley housing director announcing roommate assignmentsis a clever device for introducing EB (Elizabeth) and Lauren to each other and the reader. New Jersey native EB, or, as Lauren quickly dubs her, Ebb, is headed to California to study landscape architecture and escape her mother, who has become excessively irritating lately. Lauren, on the other hand, is staying close to home, although she alternately craves and fears the short distance dorm life will afford from her four young siblings and overly stressed parents. EB's gay father, who disappeared from her life when she was five and now runs an art gallery in San Francisco, and Lauren's black boyfriend add plot complexity and keep both girls off-balance. Authentic and drama filled, this novel offers reassurance to all teens who, regardless of destination, are facing the next chapter in their lives: leaving home. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Zarr, a National Book Award finalist for Story of a Girl (2007), and Altebrando are backed by a substantial marketing and publicity campaign that includes select author appearances and a blog tour.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
Jersey girl Elizabeth (EB) and San Franciscan Lauren, soon to be college roommates, correspond throughout the summer; chapters with alternating perspectives unwrap each girl's backstory, personality, and coming-to-terms with changes looming on the horizon. The premise will have mass appeal with teens who fantasize about their post-high-school futures, and the authors succeed in presenting two distinct and relatable narrative voices.

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