Book: The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
Author: Jessica Sorensen
Publication Date: Out now
It
was only a couple of months ago that I reviewed Jessica Sorensen’s previous
novel, The Secret of Ella and Micha, and
couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. However, when I saw Sorensen’s
first book in a new, but not unfamiliar, series, I thought, ‘Why not?’ After
all, it wasn’t Sorensen’s writing I found lacking, but the plot. Having just
finished The Coinsidence of Callie and
Kayden I’m very pleased to be able to go back on my original opinion and
say that this was a brilliant book!
As
with The Secret of Ella and Micha, the
main characters have shared a personal moment in the past; this time Callie –
the school weirdo, with her black eyeliner and baggy clothes – comes across
Kayden (the ‘cool guy’) being beaten by his father at his end of school party.
She rescues him, but leaves for college shortly after. Kayden finds it hard to
forget the girl that saved him, and he feels he owes her at least a ‘thank you’
for standing up to his father, something he has never been brave enough to do
himself. But it’s not long before he’s finally free of his home and away at
college; independent and without the stress of his home-life, Kayden can
finally be himself.
It
just so happens that Callie and Kayden are at the same college. They keep bumping into each other, and in the end
just take a chance and hang out. But things aren’t that simple; Callie has many
issues from her own difficult past that haunt her. She isn’t comfortable to
accept the attention that Kayden suddenly gives her, and her often feels
overwhelmed. But Kayden isn’t finding his feelings for Callie easy to handle
either. As they grow closer, the problems they keep hidden become harder to
hide. Will they be strong enough to last?
Sorensen’s
books are marketed for ‘new adults’, an audience (17+) I don’t find many books
are market specifically for. However, the issues in this book are very ‘adult’
i.e. not ideal for a young adults or children to read about. I won’t go into
detail because we slowly learn of Callie and Kayden’s problems through the
book, but they are quite hard hitting.
The
novel is well written, not rushed or half-hearted. All the characters are well
thought out and real. By real, I mean
they are dealing with real life situations in a realistic way. It makes you
think, ‘What would I do if that happened
to me? How would I cope?’ The secondary characters, Callie’s best-friend
Seth and Kayden’s pal Luke, are also likeable and bring humor and feeling to
the story.
Sorensen
has plans to expand both this and the Secrets
series into trilogies. I am very pleased to find out that Luke from this
series is also getting his own book. (Yay!) He’s an extremely intriguing character.
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden ends
on a tense cliffhanger, but I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait until the second
book is released in February 2014. I don’t think I can wait that long!
It
just shows what giving a writer a second chance can do for you! I couldn’t
recommend this series enough now; full of emotion, it grabs your attention and
gets you involved, whether you want to be or not!
Rating: 4/5
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