Starred Review One kiss. That's all it took for 16-year-old Eva's fantasy world of poetry and romance novels to become real. Sharing the grief of her father's plane-crash death and her mother's refusal to mourn with Will makes the memories and frustrations less harsh because, just as her romances promise, love conquers all. Until Will unexpectedly moves to California. How to see Will again? Have brilliant best friend Annie enter the Smartest Girl in America contest, be her companion "lifeline," travel to L.A. to the competition d just happen to see Will in the process. Thus begins the girls' rollicking, eye-opening cross-country bus adventure from New York City to Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, and finally to the competition's TV set in California. This is a smart teen's novel. Poems abound, gracing each section and quoted in special moments and memories. Annie is drop-dead smart, and Will is subtly intelligent and more attuned to the world's harsh realities. But all Rabb's characters are authentic and complex, including the adults who are trying desperately to do the right thing for themselves and the young people around them, sometimes awkwardly and occasionally very badly. Rabb knows the perfect point to interject humor to diffuse a potentially devastating situation d there are many! leavening of sorts to the reality that death and love inexplicitly alter the landscape of a person's life.

Gr 9 Up-Two years ago, Eva Roth's father was killed in a plane crash, which is still being investigated. Eva's grief is as fresh as it was the day he died, but her mother seems determined to move on and expects Eva to do the same. As her mother becomes increasingly uncommunicative and obsessed with work, Eva tries to escape her pain by focusing on preparing for college; studying with her best friend, Annie; and losing herself in the pages of romance novels. When the teen is paired with high school heartthrob, Will, in an after-school tutoring session, she discovers that he, too, has lost a family member. Their shared understanding of loss and pain draws them into a relationship that is abruptly halted when Will has to move from New York to Los Angeles. Following the advice of her favorite romance novelist, Eva determines to find a way to go "get her man." She convinces the brilliant Annie to enter the two of them in an academic teen game show that promises a trip to Los Angeles and a $20,000 scholarship to the winner. Together they embark on a cross-country adventure that will test their friendship, and ultimately bring Eva to a deeper understanding of herself and her family. With a full cast of multidimensional characters, this novel explores the complex nature of relationships and the many faces of grief and love with equal parts humor and poignancy. VERDICT A first purchase for most YA collections. Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA