CHASING AFTER KNIGHT

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.