Crashing into You by Rocky Callen - OPTIONAL

Crashing into You by Rocky Callen, 288 pages. Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillan), 2024. $20.

Language: R (96 swears, 56 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

Street racing is something that Leti (16yo) is good at, and she’s determined to prove that she deserves to be there by getting invited to the underground races. Her crew is fully behind her, even if her father isn’t supportive. But when Leti and Jacob become friends, she gains another reason to win—and so much more to lose if she doesn’t.

I love the metaphors that come to life from Leti’s view of the world, from how she describes Jacob as an entire forest in one being to how her car feels like a rocket to how the entire ocean can come between people. Leti’s and Jacob’s interest in flying and in the stars are different, and yet Callen uses imagery to bring them together in a beautiful way. The street racing is exciting and the aforementioned figurative language is amazing, but the core of this book is about grief and promises—when to let them define your life and whether any good can come from letting them go.

Leti and her family are implied Latinx, Jacob is Jewish, and a couple of side characters are gay. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, mentions of drugs and sex, illegal activity, innuendo, groping, and sexual harassment. The violence rating is for assault.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen