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Stepping Off by Jordan Sonnenblick

Stepping Off

Jordan Sonnenblick

Scholastic Inc. · Hardcover · June 4, 2024

Jesse Dienstag's favorite sweatshirt says, "The real world isn't real." That's the slogan of the vacation-home community in Pennsylvania where his family has always spent every vacation and weekend for as long as he can remember.

Coming of AgeContemporary YA RomanceYA Divorce & Marriage Storiessummer
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Who it’s for
A straightforward, easy-entry read with teen-focused stakes and room to settle in.
Genres
YA Divorce & Marriage Stories, Contemporary YA Romance, Coming of Age
Published
Scholastic Inc., June 4, 2024

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About this book

Jesse Dienstag's favorite sweatshirt says, "The real world isn't real." That's the slogan of the vacation-home community in Pennsylvania where his family has always spent every vacation and weekend for as long as he can remember. In the summer of 2019, as Jesse is about to enter his junior year of high school in New York City, he desperately wants to believe the slogan is true.

Continue reading

For one thing, the two girls he loves -- equally and desperately -- are in Pennsylvania, and all the stresses and pressures of his daily life and school are in New York. But when his parents stop talking to each other, it gets harder and harder for Jesse to maintain his dream life in Pennsylvania. And when Covid shuts New York City down in March 2020 just days after Jesse’s mother leaves his father, Jesse's worlds collide.

Summer Road

A straightforward, easy-entry read with teen-focused stakes and room to settle in.

Come here for

  • Accessible YA voice
  • Summer-road-trip energy

Expect

  • Divorce-and-change themes in a teen register

Where it sits

Coming of Age88%
YA Divorce & Marriage Stories81%
Contemporary YA Romance53%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Coming of Age
  • YA Divorce & Marriage Stories
  • Emotions & Feelings for Teens
Authors
Jordan Sonnenblick
Publisher
Scholastic Inc.
Published
June 4, 2024
Format
Hardcover
Reading lane
Coming of Age