Chasing After Knight

February 1, 2022
High school senior Alexa wonders if love is a force of nature. This novel follows Alexa Brooks as she rediscovers her lost love, Carson Knight. During their time at summer camp in junior high, before he was hot Hollywood actor Cayden McKnight, she fell in love with him. Alexa is haunted by the past and wants to make amends for embarrassing him years ago. Is she willing to leave a pretty nearly perfect life in which she envisions herself as a future valedictorian, cross country running star, and Boston College early decision admit to chase after Carson? She did everything possible to distance herself from the fun, spontaneous girl she once was, but now her inauthentic, predictable life appears to be crumbling. Love-struck Alexa does not think about the consequences of her actions and how they could negatively affect those around her. Her attempted indifference toward Carson's career fails dismally when she needs to watch one of his movies for class, causing her to fall down the rabbit hole of his celebrity life and its attendant gossip. Alexa is determined to fix Carson's bad-boy reputation with a few good deeds of her own, but her behavior skirts uncomfortably close to stalking and harassment. This predictable, paint-by-numbers novel unfortunately fails to generate tension. Alexa's father's repeated use of a homophobic slur is shrugged off. Characters are coded as White. A lightweight romance with a Hollywood ending. (Romance. 12-18)

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April 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-When her parents announce that they're moving to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, Alexa Brooks sees an opportunity to make a fresh start in high school. She's looking forward to the future to escape the past. At summer camp after eighth grade, she betrayed Carson Knight when another girl flirted with him-a girl whose influential father could jump-start Carson's acting career-ending a friendship that went deeper than Alexa was willing to admit. Three years later, she's a senior and top student when an English assignment about memory brings back her past guilt. Best friend Lindsey, fascinated by all things Hollywood, convinces Alexa to track down Carson, now successful actor and celebrity Cayden McKnight, to make amends-and to see if they still click. A fake social media campaign threatens to derail their plan as these two nobodies sneak into Cayden's insular world, which Alexa, at least, finds more confining than glamorous. Lindsey's pursuit seems a bit ruthless as high-stakes capers ensue; fake IDs, midnight rides across the desert, quick changes in anonymous hotel restrooms, and brushing off the paparazzi become the norm. Some readers may enjoy the rush of this improbable tale, but the underlying story-whether or not Alexa and Cayden can reconcile-is more compelling. All the characters are white. VERDICT An entertaining though plot-heavy novel about two high school seniors trying to track down an elusive teen movie star one of them used to know.-Georgia Christgau

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