(ARC Review) '89 Walls by Katie Pierson

Synopsis:
No one is alone
College is not in the cards for Seth. He spends his minimum wage on groceries and fakes happiness to distract his mom from the MS they both know will kill her. It’s agony to carry around a frayed love note for a girl who’s both out of his league and beneath his dignity.

Quinn’s finishing high school on top. But that cynical, liberal guy in her social studies class makes her doubt her old assumptions. Challenging the rules now, though, would a) squander her last summer at home, b) antagonize her conservative dad, and c) make her a hypocrite.

Seth and Quinn’s passionate new romance takes them both by surprise. They keep it a secret: it’s too early to make plans and too late not to care. But it’s 1989. As politics suddenly get personal, they find themselves fighting bare-fisted for their beliefs—and each other—in the clear light of day.

My thoughts and whatnot

My rating: ★★★☆☆ 

I'll be honest, I judged this book by its cover. I mean, that's a totally cool book cover. And it's young adult, contemporary, historical fiction, this book is essentially right up my alley. One thing I didn't expect was the political aspect of this book. I mean, the book basically opened to a debate or discussion of some sort about Cold War, that I know nothing of.  Seriously, with how the main characters are acting, I thought I was reading An Introduction to Debate: Cold War edition. What I mean is, the whole political thing going on is, to put it simply, tedious. *yawn* Just thinking about it makes me sleepy. There's a reason why I didn't take up politics.

I'm not sure what to think of Seth and Quinn. Seth strikes me as the self-deprecating, stalker-ish bloke. It felt like he doesn't know what to do with his life so he looks at his mother or Quinn with a hopeful eyes and let them decide for his future. Quinn, on the other hand, was a bit pushy. She won't stop whining grumbling until she heard want she wanted to hear,

Quinn and Seth's relationship was the only thing that made me want to finish this book. It's not really properly developed but with all the political views tossed around, this is the only thing that makes sense to me. Quinn and Seth's relationship to their respective parents didn't bode too well to me. Additionally, Seth's mother's illness isn't elaborated thoroughly. Moreover, there are some sensitive topics, that I think, was taken too lightly.

I enjoyed reading the glossary and the 1989 timeline more than I enjoyed reading the conversations in the Social Studies (or is it?) class.

About the author:

I freelance for local non-profits, using my background in public policy and grassroots organizing to overthrow the patriarchy one introverted step at a time. When I'm not writing fiction, I return library books, make soup, and try to be cooler than I really am by hip-hopping at the YMCA.

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in American History from the University of Pennsylvania (where I dabbled briefly in being a College Republican) and a Master’s in American History from the University of Minnesota. I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and now live with my partner and two daughters in a suburb of Minneapolis. I'm a member of SCBWI, MNSCBWI and the Authors Guild.

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