Review Detail

THIS GOLDEN STATE is a riveting YA family drama/mystery. Poppy and her family have spent her entire life on the run from something big - and something she knows nothing about. Her family has always come first, and her dreams are merely to keep her little sister safe. Whenever her parents seem to get spooked, they uproot their lives and move to another town. She has never really been allowed to have friends, see movies in the theatre, or anything else children would typically do. She has sporadically attended school, and she loves math.

Something has changed, and her family is heading to California - a move that seems both wrought and exciting. Poppy does not know what is different, but she knows that everything is changing. She convinces her parents to let her take a math class she is excited about, and she sees the possibilities for her future - which feel more like impossibilities due to her family. Poppy wants answers, and since her parents will not give her any, she decides in the spur of the moment to take a DNA test - without really understanding what the consequences could be for her family on the run.

What I loved: This was an absolutely riveting and unputdownable read. The mystery of Poppy's family and who her parents were as well as why they are going to California really propels the book forward and keeps readers guessing. On top of that, the plots around her future, college decisions, and who she wants to be when she grows up, versus protecting her family are a reflection of the decisions made by other teens around her age and highly relatable. The romance on top of all that makes this a highly compelling read. In the class that Poppy is taking, there is another student, Harry, who changes everything for her - and has his own baggage and family issues to work out.

The themes around family (nuclear and extended), what is really important, friendship, heritage, emotional/verbal abuse (another character), forging your own path, the way the past can haunt the present, and the dreams we hold for ourselves are really thought-provoking and make this a highly compelling read. Similarly, the characters are well-constructed. Poppy really comes to life as the narrator of the story, and through her, her parents and Harry are really fleshed out. Poppy is someone driven by love for her family and who carries a lot of guilt for wanting more out of her life. Her parents have tried to give her what normalcy they could, but they are hyper-focused on their goal of being able to raise her and her sister, providing a loving home first and foremost - but with a past that they are afraid will catch up to them at any moment. Harry is another complex character who is struggling with the weight of parental expectations and forging his own path and relationships, but also dealing with the guilt of not always meeting those expectations.

Final verdict: With compelling characters, thought-provoking themes, and a riveting plot, THIS GOLDEN STATE is a highly devourable and shocking YA contemporary/mystery read that will keep readers turning pages until the satisfying end. Highly recommend for fans of family drama and mysteries.