When It Happens

WHEN IT HAPPENS by Susane Colasanti
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/4/06
Publisher: Viking
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 5 Stars

When her senior year starts, Sara's attention is focused on college and on Dave. Dave is a new student and a popular
athlete, and Sara thinks he may just be a candidate for the "something real" she wants to find. Tobey, however, is focused
on his music and on Sara. He wants Sara to fall in love with him (as he is in love with her, despite the fact that the two are
not close), but unfortunately he's got Dave as competition.

Despite Sara's attraction to Dave, Tobey and Sara are obviously meant to be together. They're almost unrealistically
compatible, having even the little things--such as how they eat their onion rings--in common. Even more importantly, they
both want the same thing. They're both searching for "the one," a soulmate, what Sara calls "something real"--could they find
it in each other? Even if they do, there are still some obstacles. Tobey and Sara want different things from their futures, but
can they overcome that?

WHEN IT HAPPENS is a wonderful story told in the fresh voices of Tobey and Sara. It's a romance, certainly, but there's
more to it than that. Tobey and Sara are fantastic, likeable, and believable characters, with lives outside of each other, which
adds an extra dimension to what would otherwise just be one of a million cheesy romance novels, but is instead a
wonderfully written and almost too-good-to-be-true story of two teenagers looking for love.