For Keeps by Natasha Friend

Sixteen year-old Josie has a lot going on. A few months ago, she made out with a guy even though he already had a girlfriend; he said that they had kind of an open relationship, but did they really? Now he's single, and she's not sure what's going to happen. Her best friend has just started another casual relationship with a guy she met online. Her mother has panic attacks whenever she sees anyone related to her high school years - which is difficult, because they live pretty close to where she grew up. And Josie has just recently realized that the parents of the father she's never known live in the same town, and that means that her father might be making an appearance something in the near future.

Is it a coincidence that this books shares its name with a 1980s movie starring Molly Ringwald as a pregnant teen (and then as a teen mother?) Maybe not, considering all of the late-80s/early 90s stuff that Josie's mom loves. Anyway, this was a nice read that had a lot of teen angst but had a story that clipped along at a good pace. The ending had a number of twists and turns before it all shook out but there was some great depictions of many characters, even the small, incidental characters. I found myself thinking that at times Josie's parents' story might have made for interesting reading, and I think that's how it is in real life, too - you're caught up in your own story, and you don't realize that your 'supporting characters' have full stories of their own.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Not Suitable for Family Viewing by Vicki Grant
Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott
Coffee at Luke's edited by Jennifer Crusie