"Waiting For You" plays across like a quintessential coming of age teen story. Fifteen year old Marisa seeks to reinvent herself in more ways than one, following suffering from severe anxiety/depression. Yet as she's branching into her new relationships and distancing herself from old ones, she finds that everything in her life isn't what it seems on the surface. She finally lands the boyfriend (Derek) she's yearned for from afar, but her best guy friend (Nash) distances himself from her after she rejects him. Not to mention that she has to deal with an envious best friend pining for her time, the falling out of her parents relationship, and general growing pains that she would rather not deal with. But there's also a mysterious radio DJ that seems to "get" what Marisa's going through, though no one at school is able to figure out who he is. Susane Colasanti does a great job of realistically portraying Marisa's thoughts, trials, and convictions as the novel moves forward. I was able to identify what she was feeling at a given time, and I think teens could relate to her on some levels for what she's going through. I also liked the supporting characters quite a bit as far as personalities came across (Nash is probably my favorite for his keen insights and general personality). What disappointed me about the story was that it moved along a little too cliched/predictably and felt like some of the situations didn't quite have the same depth as other novels have taken (i.e. I think the author could've delved a bit more into Marisa's prior history with an anxiety disorder, since it was such a key issue brought up through the work). If you've read similar stories to this, you will likely know how this will play out before the novel ends (who ends up with whom, the radio DJ's true identity, etc). There was probably only one moment where I was surprised in the novel by certain events, so I wasn't able to truly connect with some of the moments where Marisa finds herself surprised. I think if you're not expecting too much, however, this is a cute story with tangible conflicts. There are also instances where the writing has a bit too much of typical teenage nuanced speech, but I could forgive that because it was such a key part of Colasanti's voice for Marisa and the novel as a whole. I wasn't happy with all the pop culture references - there was a little too much. I could handle Marisa's love for John Mayer songs, and maybe a few bit references to things, but I felt like there were too many in the novel for its respective length, and some of the impact of the individual references felt blunted.Still, I think for a light read, it had something to offer, and I probably enjoyed it a lot more since I listened to the audiobook version (read by Kate Rudd). I would recommend it for those who like light romance/coming-of-age teen stories.Overall score: 3/5
