The Story of Us

For Ages: 12 and up

customer reviews

Sometimes choices—like change—can’t be avoided. A bittersweet story of love and family from National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti.

Cricket has a very long week ahead of her. Her entire family has come together for her mom’s wedding, and it’s supposed to be a time for celebration. But for Cricket, the timing couldn’t be worse.

For years Cricket’s been half of the perfect couple, destined to be together forever. Now, because of what she’s done—something she would give anything to take back—Janssen has walked away. Maybe for good.

Cricket has always panicked in the face of change. Now she is forced to face her fears and decide once and for all what she wants, and how she’s going to get it. For over the course of the week, secrets will be revealed, bonds will be tested, and Cricket’s confusion—and her desires—may very well send her spiraling down a path she never thought she’d take...with no idea where it will lead her.

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Simon Pulse |
400 pages |
ISBN 9781442423473 |
March 2013 |
Grades 7 and up

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Praise

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“* Caletti’s latest Pacific Northwest romance is a stunner, with depth and ambiguity that respects and challenges the reader.... One of Caletti’s best, this is a title to reread and savor.”

– Booklist, starred review

“Thoughtful and poetic... quite moving... a rewarding story of a girl's struggle to live and love in a world of constant change. ”

– Publishers Weekly

“Caletti tosses readers into a story that is fast paced from the get-go. Cricket is very appealing. Her concerns about life’s changes feel real; her relationships with her mom and brother are loving and honest... A thoughtful... ”

– School Library Journal

“There is a crowd of characters with a nice variety of simple to complex backstories, all of whom... to have a valid part to play.”

– VOYA

“Smart, likable Cricket is supported by a surfeit of colorful characters and plenty of action.... Caletti [has] exceptional insight into and compassion for her characters...”

– Kirkus Reviews

“Caletti's talent for creating interesting, complex characters and relationships that remind readers of their own families shines through in this novel.... a beautiful, emotion-driven story. This is yet another excellent,... ”

– thecompulsivereader.com

“One thing I could not stress enough is how real this book felt through the way characters acted and interacted with each other. This could be any family. The specific memories made it theirs, but the human interaction that came out... ”

– darkfaerietales.com

“The story is driven by meticulously delineated and authentically imperfect characters--even Jupiter, Cricket’s elderly beagle, has a personality all her own--and sharp, clever Gilmore Girls-esque dialogue. Cricket’s... ”

– The Horn Book

“Caletti’s writing possesses both vigor and perceptivity, with characters brought to vivid life in a quick turn of phrase. Readers uncertain about their own upcoming big moves into adulthood may relate to Cricket’s... ”

– Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

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Read an Excerpt

chapter
one

I found out something about myself as all those boxes piled up: I hated change. Hated it, and was bad at it. I suppose I got my feelings about change through some genetic line, because my mother, Daisy Shine, had left two husbands-to-be at the Sea-Tac Airport in order to avoid it. Imagine the spinning baggage carousel going round and round, the roaring liftoff of planes. The landings. The comings and goings. And some guy with his dreams in a suitcase, and my mother nowhere in sight.

Far as I knew, there were no airports on Bishop Rock, which was a lucky thing for Dan Jax. For all of us. I loved...