A copy of Golden was provided to me by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/Edelweiss for review purposes."Tell me, what do you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life."Parker Frost has always lived her life with the future in mind. She has always studied hard and received good grades in hopes that she can attend Stanford after graduation and become a doctor. There has never been an alternate path for her, no detours or side streets to take, she has only had the one goal. When she stumbles upon an old notebook that sheds light on the town mystery, she thinks she knows the answers but she couldn't be further from the truth. When this revelation comes to light, Parker starts to wonder what she would do with her one wild and precious life and begins to question if the path she's on is really the answer.Life can be so very distracting at times. You can find yourself so caught up in everything when there comes a day you stop and look around and have to truly wonder how you got to that point. Worse, is when you realize you've been on the wrong path the entire time. Parker is a strong and vivid character that was incredibly easy to empathize with. The town mystery felt at first like a separate part of the story entirely except you realize that Parker's life choices begin reforming as the pieces of the mystery begin coming together, both intertwined. She begins realizing the immensity of making your own life choices because this is your one wild and precious life. You don't have another. This was a beautifully written coming-of-age novel about a girl who decides to take chances when she never has before. Golden is an inspiring novel of hope, of not being scared to take the leap, and realizing that not everything is golden.
