Waiting for You

Waiting for You
By Susane Colsanti
Viking Children's Books, 2009, 322 pgs. Young Adult

Marisa, who suffers from anxiety disorder, is waiting to find that perfect guy. She's been crushing on popular Derek--who has a girlfriend--for a long time, and he finally seems to be noticing her. At the same time, geeky Nash, who is just a friend but might actually have more in common with Marisa, seems interested in her, too. Besides her guy troubles, Marisa is also dealing with family issues and trying to keep an eye on her best friend, who has a tendency to fall for older guys or internet identities that she really knows nothing about.

I didn't really ever get drawn into this book. I felt like the issues with Marisa's family, best friend and her anxiety disorder didn't really get developed enough to make them feel real; instead, they seemed to be competing with the boy issue for attention. The boy conflict was somewhat better developed but neither boy was as round a character as I would have liked to see. Overall, it wasn't a bad book; there just wasn't anything that makes it memorable for me.

AE