review: starry eyes by jenn bennett

Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern day, Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.

But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.

What could go wrong?

With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.

And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars? ~ Goodreads

Source: Finished copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Review:
So you know all those obnoxious bloggers who say this book was EVERYTHING, and you wish they wouldn’t because because you hate book hype and no book is EVERYTHING.

Well I am going to be THAT BLOGGER because Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett was my everything.

I’ve had a pretty good reading run lately but those OMG - 5 star books that leave me smiling and on a week long book high are few and far between.

Bennett is an auto-buy author for me, so I already had a pretty good idea I would enjoy Starry Eyes, but it exceeded all my expectations.

Okay….okay…I’ll get to some actual reviewer type stuff lol

Zorie’s mom convinces her to go on a glamping trip with a group of popular kids from her school. Zorie is a planner (spontaneity gives her hives – literally) and is skeptical about the whole thing but goes anyway to; please her (step)mom, get away from from making a decision about something she’s recently discovered about her dad and maybe get a shot at her crush Brett, who is also going. Bonus – at the end of the trip she can go on to meet her astronomy club nearby to see the Perseid meteor shower.

She researches and makes her lists and is pretty sure she handle the change to her summer plans until her sworn enemy – Lennon - shows up to join the adventure.

Zorie and Lennon were best friends until “The Great Experiment”, where they secretly dated but turned enemies after a disastrous homecoming night that left them both feeling abandoned. Since that night, their families haven’t spoken other than when necessary. Her father convinces her to stay away from Lennon and his moms who own the sex toy store next door – which he blames for his massage customers turning away in droves, even though Zorie's acupuncturist mom isn’t having the same problems with clients. 

So best friends to more – to enemies – to stuck on a camping trip together. Family secrets. Glamping. Excitement!

Once the group is at the glamping grounds, bad decisions are made, tempers boil over, and Zorie and Lennon are abandoned in the woods by the rest of the gang. Luckily, Lennon has become an expert camper over their time apart. Something that surprises Zorie but there’s a lot of things she’s missed about Lennon's life since they stopped talking.

They decide to take the trek to the star gazing party anyway and Zorie learns to let go of her lists and plans while she and Lennon find out what actually happened that fateful night.

Zorie and Lennon have a lot to work through and they do. It’s so refreshing to see two characters talk open and honestly.

There are still tougher issues with her father to deal with once Zorie gets back home I was thrilled with how the issue was resolved – letting Zorie make peace with things without having to compromise her own feelings and needs.

As always, Bennett’s characters are real and quirky, the California wilderness setting was immersive and her portrayal of (unconventional) families is perfection.

Starry Eyes is about giving up control and let the unexpected happen – even if it’s scary – even if it might hurt. And love, family and acceptance aren’t always what you think it should look like but are family just the same.

Add in a series of hand drawn maps from the trip and of Zorie and Lennon’s path to love and sa-woon!

Starry Eyes made me laugh, cry (with happiness) and left me with a book high that will be hard for any other book to follow.