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Sweethearts
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Sweethearts
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Sweethearts
Audiobook5 hours

Sweethearts

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another's only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she's lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she's popular, happy, and dating, everything "Jennifer" couldn't be---but she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend.

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

From the National Book Award nominated author of Story of a Girl, Sweethearts is a story about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 15, 2008
ISBN9780739367742

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Reviews for Sweethearts

Rating: 3.7949039142091157 out of 5 stars
4/5

373 ratings28 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Jennifer and Cameron are both outcasts in elementary school. They develop a friendship and understand each other, until one day Cameron is gone - presumed dead at the age of 9. Jennifer suffers his loss, but eventually is able to create a new life for herself when her family moves to a new town.I liked this. It was a somewhat quiet book, but it had a huge suspense component. I listened to it in one fell swoop (as I was preparing Thanksgiving dinner) and quickly grew to like the characters. They all were realistic, as was the story line. I believe Zarr captured the essence of many high schoolers - yes, there's drama, but this didn't portray anything over the top. This was the first book I have read by her and anticipate many good reads ahead. (3.75/5)Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm just going to go ahead and get my complaint out there so I can move on to what is great about this book. The book takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah. I would be lying if I said that there isn't this weird perception about Salt Lake. I, myself, had it. Because the Mormon pioneers settled in this region there is this perception that it is full of Mormons and they are complete jerks to anyone who isn't a Mormon. That may have been the case at one point and I certainly felt that way in the 90s when I first lived here. However, I really do think things have changed in a big way since then. Sure, the local government is swayed by the Mormon culture, but in what area is it not true that religion sways things? Throughout this book there were little, random jabs towards the Mormon population of Salt Lake that really had no place in the story except to demonstrate that the author was or had at one point struggled with that aspect of the culture.

    Moving on. As a child I moved a lot and had people constantly coming in and out of my life. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what some of those people are doing now and if they ever think about me. I liked that Cameron and Jenna were childhood friends and even though he moved far away he always wondered about Jenna and wanted her in his life again. What I hated was the fact that Jenna's mother couldn't be honest with her about Cameron. How is it easier to let your child think that their best friend died a tragic death? Worst mother of the year award right there.

    I'm beginning to realize that I seem to have mostly complaints pertaining to this novel. Instead of going on and on about those, I just want to mention that I did read this book in one sitting. I think that says something. The author is talented and her writing does keep you engaged. However, these characters and this story just didn't quite do it for me. I do plan on checking out something else written by Sara Zarr.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Jennifer changes her looks and her life but cannot forget the experiences of her childhood and her first friend/love. Told in flashbacks with increasing promises of horrors of the past, this was a dramatic and memorable read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The last chapter or so of this book made me really nostalgic for my friends. It made me want to call them each up to tell them why I love them so much and to just hear their voices. Though, like any other book, there were aspects of this book that I didn't like (that I will leave out for the sake of not having spoilers), there were far more moments where I felt a connection with the characters, I felt the emotions, and I felt like the words and descriptions Zarr used were perfect.

    I read this book in one sitting and I don't regret it at all. I loved the friendship between Jennifer/Jenna and Cameron Quick.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This one started out with a bang and ended with a bit of a fizzle. A good one for girls and realistic fiction fans. Overall, an enjoyable read, but the ending wasn't great.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Jennifer Harris had only one friend in the whole world; Cameron Quick. Without warning, Cameron is no longer there. He has disappeared and Jennifer needs to figure out how to live without him. Jump ahead to high school, where Jenna is popular and dating the "hot" senior boy named Ethan. Jenna has convinced herself that she has "lost" Jennifer for good. That she is no longer the fat and lonely girl she once was. On her birthday, Jenna discovers that Cameron is back. Her whole perception of who she is and what she once was begins to knaw at her. Will Cameron stay? Will Jenna continue to keep the Jennifer inside at bay? Sara Zarr is a wonderful storyteller. Her story had me drifting back into my memory, digging to remember my childhood friends and my first love. And she is correct, I think that we all have some unfinished business.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I had doubts about this one, but after the first few chapters, I couldn't put it down! Leave it to Sara Zarr to get to the sweetest things we do for ourselves and each other without sugar-coating the ending. Now, I need another tissue!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A bittersweet book about friendship and loss. Cameron and Jennifer were soulmates in elementary school who experienced the harshness of reality together. Suddenly, Cameron is gone, and Jennifer makes a new life together. When Cameron unexpectedly returns, Jennifer is forced to come to terms with their childhood and decide what kind of life she wants to lead.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely loved this book. I was reading it ever chance I had and did not ever want to put it down. This was a book I would read over and over again. It was very well written and was unpridictable at some parts. This was a story that many teens can relate to. Great book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The cover screams CHICK LIT. The contents do not. Zarr's 217 page young adult novel is concise and well written, but readers have to get past the incongruity of the cover versus content first. Jenna Vaughn is a happy, popular teenager with a boyfriend. Jennifer Harris (fattifer) is Jenna eight years ago, who was constantly picked on by the popular girls and who had just one friend-- Cameron, whose sudden disappearance left Jennifer certain that Cameron had died. When Cameron suddenly reappears on Jenna's 16th birthday, her world turns upside down as memories of their friendship-- and the dangers they faced together-- return. Young men and women will relate to Cameron and Jenna, as well as Jenna's self-serving boyfriend Ethan. One of the most sympathetic characters is Jenna's step-father, Alan. Kids from abusive households, or who know kids from abusive households, will undoubtedly relate to the book, although the on-page abuse is mental and very brief, although some sexual abuse is threatened. Zarr's copy is clean-- one four letter word is simply spelled out ****. Ultimately, this is a story of lost friendships and finding the other side of you-- and that might be the selling point I use when book talking this title.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really like Sara Zarr's books - she takes typical themes and creates something very meaningful around those themes. Jenna was once Jennifer - a fat girl who was very unliked by her schoolmates. She was teased cruelly except for one friend - Cameron Quick - who had his own problems. Jennifer's mother was working full time and going to nursing school, and she really neglected her allowing a terrible episode to happen with Cameron's abusive father. Then Cameron's family disappeared, Jenna believed they were dead, and she created a new life where she was popular and organized. Suddenly Cameron returns - causing her to question the life she has. The biggest part of this friendship and connection for Jenna and Cameron is what has happened to them together, and what Jenna's mom calls unfinished business. This sense of togetherness and love is amazing, strong and trumps everything else going on her life. I think this is a great story about friendship between a guy and a girl that never turns into anything romantic - it's just a strong connection that cannot be denied. I was also apalled by the mom and Jenna's relationship and how terrible it had become because of what had happened when she was nine. Very thoughtful, thought-provoking and unusual.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Jenna has reinvented herself since the days when she thought of herself as fat and unpopular and friendless except for Cameron Quick. When Cameron disappears and she is told he has dies, she is devestated. Suddenly eight years later Cameron reappears in her life turning everything upside down and making Jenna confront her past. I was worried about how dark the secret would be...but my imagination was worse than what was in the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A Story of love and heartache. Reinvented Jenna Vaughn's life is perfect. She forgot all of her horrible and wonderful memories of her life as Jennifer Harris. All of the memories of her only and best childhood friend, Cameron Quick, are stripped away, and all of the memories of being teased and ridiculed are forever gone. Or so Jenna thought. When Cameron Quick, her childhood friend whom she thought was dead, returns unexpectedly, her life is completely and forever changed. A boy whom Jenna loved with all of her heart and soul, and the one she still does. Hiding her past from her friends and her boyfriend, and even her mom and step-dad got even harder when Cameron comes back. When he asks her to tell her mother an unbearably tearful memory that she has forever kept a secret, she becomes closer to her mom than she ever thought possible. A heartwarming story of a girl's first love and her painful past. A must-read for every teenage girl and boy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a wonderfully sweet and sad book. I loved the relationship between Cameron and Jennifer, best friends in elementary school until Cameron mysteriously moved away. They were each others only friends. Jennifer is led to believe, by her peers and a bit by her mother, that Cameron is dead and goes about reinventing herself into Jenna Vaughn in high school; a thin, popular girl with friends and a boyfriend. The complete opposite to her former self. When Cameron comes back, she must deal with the past and present colliding.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When Jennifer was a kid she was fat and only had one friend in the whole world - Cameron. They went through something awful together and then Cameron disappeared without saying goodbye. Now it's eight years later and Jennifer has recreated her life. She's lost weight, she has a studly boyfriend, she does her hair, she calls herself Jenna... She knows she's living a lie, but that's better than having no friends and being the butt of everyone's jokes, right? But when Cameron reappears, Jenna will find that she needs to deal with what happened in her past and that maybe her new friends know her a little better than she thinks. The story has more depth than the sweet, fluffy cover would have you believe. The characters all felt very real to me, especially Jenna's caring stepdad. The tension is built perfectly, interspersing Jenna's current life with flashbacks of the terrible thing that happened to Jennifer and Cameron when they were nine.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this book all in one sitting. There were definitely a couple of problems and I'm not sure if I liked the ending (I'm a sap for a good, happy ending), but overall this was a solid work. I suppose I wish something more had happened with the father and the two children long ago... it would have made the book even more difficult and moving. I also wish the main boy had opened up more so we could see better into his life. I liked the main character, however, and I also liked the parents. The friends at school were also authentic and thought-out. Pretty good book!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Back in grade school, when Jennifer was fat and unpopular, her best (and only) friend was a boy named Cameron. They were inseparable, until the day Cam disappeared without a trace and was rumored to have died. Before her Freshman year at a new high school where no-one knows her, Jennifer re-invents herself. Through diet, exercise, and carefully observing (and mimicing) the behavior of the "popular kids," she transforms into Jenna, a thin and pretty girl with popular friends and a handsome boyfriend. Her life is ordered and under control; until her 17th birthday, when she gets a card from Cameron. Then he shows up in her class at school, reminding her of the person she used to be and the friendship they used to have, and Jenna's world is turned upside down.Like Sara Zarr's other YA novel (Story of a Girl) this packs a lot of issues into a slim volume, without feeling forced or unnatural. Thought-provoking and moving, this made me cry a little. But in a good way.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Jennifer (or Fattifer, as her classmates call her) is a nine year old struggling to fit in at an all-Mormon school in Salt Lake City. She has just one friend, Cameron, whose abusive father does a number on his self-esteem before he shows up for class only to be picked on by the mean kids. When Cameron disappears the day after Jennifer's ninth birthday, the mean kids tell her that he died, and she has lost her only friend and ally. At seventeen, Jennifer is now Jenna. She's worked hard to lose weight and stay healthy. Her mother remarried a man she considers her father, and both of her parents have good jobs. Jenna attends a special high school for gifted students and has a ton of friends and even a hot boyfriend. She has shed the ugly duckling skin that was Jennifer, and doesn't want to remember her past as a poor, fat, friendless kid. Then Cameron shows up, apparently not dead, and her past washes over Jenna in a way she never could have imagined. This is more than a teen romance - it rises above what we want to hear, the pretty girls and boys and their happily ever afters. Sweethearts gets at the truth of teen social behavior, the struggle that is growing up, and the parts of ourselves that we can never leave behind.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Jenna and Cameron were best friends as children. In fact, they were each other's only friends. Both were teased, unpopular kids. Cameron had an abusive father and Jenna experienced some of that with him. They developed a special bond. Then, suddenly, Cameron disappeared. Kids at school said that he died and Jenna believed it. Now, in high school, Jenna's life has changed. She goes to a different school and has become pretty and popular. She has a cute boyfriend. Everything she's ever wished for, right? Find out why Jenna begins to question her new life when Cameron suddenly appears out of her past. This is a well-written sensitive book about love, friendship and being yourself.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I kept waiting for something of substance, but it never came. I was okay with the main character until I found out what the horrible thing was that happened on her 9th birthday, then she started to get on my nerves. Did not like the mom, actually the only character I did like was the stepdad.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I think this was a really well-written YA novel, that dealt with some heavy topics - about identity and self-discovery, about friendship and growing up, about what we tell people & what we keep to ourselves - in well thought out ways. It was an intriguing premise - what if someone you thought had died, someone who knew you as a child, before you'd made so many 'improvements' and changes to yourself, suddenly reappeared? What would you have to face about your past, about yourself, about your relationships? I don't know: there was a lot here, and I liked that the author didn't hand out any simple answers to impossible questions (while at the same time providing a satisfying conclusion to the story). Good book: liked it a lot.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Jennifer only had one friend as a child, Cameron Quick. But, something happened on Jennifer's 9th birthday at Cameron's house. Not long after that, Cameron disappeared without a word. Jennifer was devastated when she later found out Cameron had died. Now, she's 17 and in high school. She completely “remade” herself (including changing her name to Jenna), has a group of friends, and even a boyfriend. What a shock when Cameron suddenly returns into her life...I really enjoyed this. It was quick to read. I have to say, though, that I wasn't crazy about the ending. I thought it was kind of abrupt and left a lot of loose ends. Maybe it didn't, but it felt that way to me. Overall, I'm still giving this 4 stars for the rest of the story, though.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a sad book. Not sad in the sense of Big Tragic Event That Happens, but in the sense of the overall way things went: how the characters' lives played out and why. This is also not to say I didn’t like it; Sara Zarr is one of my favorite YA writers, and here she ropes you in from the very first page.Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were childhood friends who bonded because they were both Rejects with big problems that made them prey to bullies. Jennifer, daughter of a single mom who worked two jobs and was never home, stuffed her hurts and fears and anxiety back down inside her with food. Schoolmates called her “Fattifer.” To make things worse, she had a lisp. Cameron had an abusive father, and often had to skip school, presumably because of bruises or breaks. He too had a speech impediment. No matter what they endured, however, they always had each other. Cameron made Jennifer feel “special, protected, and watched over, loved.” When still just little kids, Cameron gave Jennifer a ring and told her he loved her. Then on Jennifer’s ninth birthday, he disappeared. Kids in school said Cameron was dead, and Jennifer’s mother didn’t tell her otherwise.Without Cameron, Jennifer knew something had to change, because she was all alone now. She learned to cope better, and practiced her speech until the lisp was gone. In the summer before seventh grade, her mom got married to a nice man, Alan, and they all moved to a different school district. Jennifer grabbed at the chance for a new identity. She changed her name to Jenna, so no one could call her “Fattifer” anymore. She lost weight and exercised and made friends. In high school, she even got a boyfriend, Ethan. Then on her seventeenth birthday, Cameron came back.What happens next is so touching and affecting. Both Jenna and Cameron were so damaged, and both have so much to overcome. And there is so much unfinished business between them.Evaluation: I loved this book, as I have loved all Zarr’s books. Her characterization is excellent, and her plots are creative without resorting to the bizarre. Clearly she understands teens and the thorny issues that they face. This bittersweet tale is perfect for Valentine’s Day
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Zarr writes with such eloquence and emotion it would have been difficult for me not to feel a connection to her characters and the stories she builds around them. A shorter book by the numbers, it carried with it as much bang for the buck as a story of much greater length. What I appreciated about her writing is that it made me see and feel without being too flowery in it’s prose. On top of that she’s created a great plot in which she’s infused the story of Jenna and Cameron’s relationship with a mystery from their past. She kept me wondering and searching; giving us little bits and pieces here and there until the very bitter end where all was ultimately revealed. Admittedly, I did have some idea of what certain circumstances related to the mystery might have been but there were an equally number of surprises that when revealed I really enjoyed. What this equaled to in the end was that I was able to take the journey with these characters as opposed to knowing it all before they did and that made for an excellent read.Jenna and Cameron are two youngsters bound to each other by their outcast status. Clinging to each other through life’s horrible circumstances (most specifically Cameron’s family issues) they are quickly and mysteriously separated when he vanishes. At this point Zarr delves into deeper exploration of each of the characters on an individual level as well as in the ways they eventually interact with each other.Jenna’s mother soon remarries and the family is relocated where no one is familiar with her past thus she becomes a girl reborn. No longer the social pariah she was in younger years her new found popularity provides her the much longed for, and missing, comforts of friendship and acceptance. Despite having built new relationships, she still longs for the deeper connection she had with her best friend Cameron.Cameron, on the other hand, is a child of bad parenting. Having returned to where Jenna lives after having been missing for so long we learn of the many changes in his persona as well. He’s distant and self-sufficient, secretive and hardworking. He’s alone in the world, but for his rekindling friendship with the one person in his life he could ever trust. Jenna.A dynamic story of friendship, love and family Zarr paints a very strong picture of dysfunction on several different levels. She digs deep into motivation and morality to create long lasting relationships. I was rooting for Cameron and Jenna to come out the other end successful and together. You’ll have to read it to find out if they did though!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Painful memories, reinventing oneself, learning to let go of the ones you love when it's the right thing. Not my favorite YA book, but an entertaining listen.?
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    So many kids have rough childhoods that nobody knows about or acknowledges. As Jennifer, aka Fattifer, reconnects with her childhood sweetheart, her ONLY friend, she learns to really start dealing with her past that she has previously tried to bury. While I could see it being a book that girls may enjoy, I cannot “recommend” it due to the expletives (omg, – fecal material, etc.). In 4.5 hours it took for me to read the book, there were not any words the kids don’t already use, but the story could have been told without having the “boyfriend” (not the childhood sweetheart) calling Jenna a female dog and then having the comment repeated 4 more times. Having said that, I do see how it might help some kids… When Cameron comes back into her life, Jenna finally tells her mother about an incident that happened at age 9… Reading the book may give other kids the courage to tell an adult what needs to be told. Help cannot be given until somebody knows there is a problem (though a next door neighbor in the book came to tell Cameron’s father she would call the police AGAIN, but the situation didn’t change), the right person, the one willing to help, needs to know.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were one another’s only friends back at their cruel elementary school. They didn’t need anyone else, and their exceptionally tight bond transcended all forms of regular friendship. When Cameron and his troubled family suddenly disappear without a word, Jennifer is devastated. However, a move gives her the opportunity to change herself. So Jennifer Harris sheds a few pounds and becomes Jenna Vaughn, but constantly lives with her old self’s insecurities.Now, as a high school senior, Jenna has everything that “Jennifer” couldn’t have: friends, a place at her school, and even a boyfriend. But then Cameron suddenly comes back, and brings with him all the emotions and events that Jenna has tried to suppress for years. Will inviting Cameron back into her life bring her back to where she started: an overweight, insecure, and friendless girl? Will Cameron even stay this time, or is he still keeping secrets?SWEETHEARTS is a short but sweet read about a relationship, an emotion, that is not quite love, not quite just friendship. It’s always difficult to write about anything that straddles the border between two distinctive places, but Sara Zarr does an admirable job of pitching the unspoken past against the possibly false present.Unfortunately, it is also this attempt to stay ambiguous that pulls this novel down for me. Maybe it was just the timing of when I read this novel; while I appreciated the non-fairy-tale-like ending—so much more realistic than happily-ever-afters—I wanted perhaps a more definitive resolution. An epilogue of sorts, per se. This book left me with the feeling like I missed something, like this was just two crazy weeks in a difficult-to-understand girl’s confusing life, two weeks that will fade from her memory over time.If you want to read something that’s a little more challenging, a little more thought-provoking, and definitely well-written, SWEETHEARTS is the book for you.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.Oh, that cover is so deceiving. Look at those pretty pinks and blues, against that calm grey background, as though saying "there's nothing bad between these covers, here, have a delicious pink frosted cookie, it'll be good for you."And then you get about a third of the way in and you're punched in the face with ALL THE FEELINGS.The story's not even about Jennifer being a popular girl faced with her unpopular past. It's about the incredibly deep bonds that are formed when you meet your soulmate -- and it doesn't have to be romantic. When you meet your best friend, that one person who knows you most, and still knows you even though you haven't seen them in nearly a decade and you've changed. Jennifer and Cameron are soulmates, and the ripples his return creates in Jennifer new, better life are huge and so interesting to read about.This was my first Sara Zarr book, but it definitely won't be my last. It's a really great novel about friendship, knowing those you love and knowing yourself, above all.