Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods

Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods
(Website, Twitter, Goodreads)Published by Random House Children's Books on May 10th 2016
Genres: Family, Love & Romance, Music, Orphans & Foster Homes, Performing Arts, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: ARC

As the daughter of an expert astrologer, Wilamena Carlisle knows that the truth lies within the stars. So when she discovers a rare planetary alignment, she is forced to tackle her worst astrological fear – The Fifth House of Relationships and Love. But Wil must decide whether a cosmically doomed love is worth rejecting her mother’s legacy, when she falls for a sensitive guitar player hailing from the wrong side of the chart.

Debut author Darcy Woods explores love in all its complexities and how to best honor the loved ones who have passed before us, in a novel packed with both humor and heart.

Wilamena Carlisle’s mom was an expert astrologer, so to say that stars are her thing would be an understatement. She grew up hearing her mom talk about how they can tell her everything she needs to know. Now she’s ready to figure out her Fifth House, the house of relationships and she only has 22 days to find ‘the one’ and she’s got his astrological make-up, who he should be… and definitely who he should NOT be, now it’s just a matter of finding someone to fit the map.

I don’t want to say too much about the love interests here because I truly don’t want to give anything away, though I know that I have to warn all you anti-love triangle people out there. This has one, and it’s complicated!

Obviously I was on the “love it” end of the spectrum. I don’t dislike live-triangles (don’t get the torches) when they are done well, and this one is. Woods captures perfectly with Wil, the desire and struggle to honor her mom the things she taught her, and yet still find the person who fits her best. The two boys she finds herself connected to are completely different, and while it was at times difficult to see the ways in which she was being pulled, the growth that Wil has from beginning to end of the story is what makes the struggle worthwhile.

Woods has created a story filled with romance, love and friendship and from the very first page I found myself connected to Wil. She’s quirky and fun, and most of all she’s completely real and relatable. The relationships that are explored and shared here are absolutely wonderful. I think that I adored her relationship with her grandmother most though, and I looked forward to their interactions. The love between the two just jumped off the pages. And her friendship with Irina was the best. I don’t even know what else to say except that these two were meant to be best friends and it shows.

The boys… *sigh* I refuse to say anything other than Seth and Grant will have you swooning … And they certainly don’t make it easy for her to figure out who she is ‘meant’ to be with. The romance isn’t instant even if the connections may seem that way. Woods weaves the threads of friendship and love expertly and I truly enjoyed getting to know these boys as Wil figures out just exactly who she should be with.

If you’re looking for something that you can’t put down once you start, I highly recommend Summer of Supernovas. The writing is beautiful, the relationships are complex and complicated but wonderfully leveled out with moments of humor and light hearted fun. This story isn’t so much about finding “the one” as it is finding yourself and Woods definitely has a fan in me and I can’t wait for more from her in the future!

About Darcy Woods

Reading/writing YA is my oxygen.

I love funny. Funny ha-ha and funny weird. I also adore books that have kissy bits because love makes life's pointy edges more smooth. Cats, music, and lattes happen regularly in my home. Once upon a time I refueled helicopters for the US Army and threw live grenades. Now I throw words.

My Golden Heart-winning debut YA novel, SUMMER OF SUPERNOVAS, comes out from Random House/Crown May 2016.

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