Review: THE RULE OF THIRDS by Chantel Guertin

In the wake of a pretty crappy year, Pippa Green knows what she wants more than ever.  She wants to be a photographer her dad would be proud of.  She wants to win the regional award that could get her accepted into Tisch camp, run by the arts school at NYU.  And she wants her panic attacks to go away.  Forever.

ECW Press, October 2013.

But just when Pippa starts to feel like things are going back to normal, a few things start to shake the ground beneath her feet.  For one thing, the new guy at school, Ben Baxter, is seriously cute AND into photography, just like her.  He even shows killer slides at the first photo club meeting.  Then there’s the fact that she’s keeping a secret from her best friend, Dace, that could really rattle their life plan as pro photographer and fashion model.  When Pippa gets assigned to serve her requisite volunteer hours at the local hospital, though, that might be the last straw.  Pippa and hospitals simply don’t mix.

Pippa doesn’t walk away, though, which leads her to a boy that she used to know.  Dylan McCutter, whom she’s had a crush on for years, and who is supposed to be at Harvard.  Rather than questioning why he’s still in small town New York, Pippa lets herself fall for him.  And for Ben.  And ends up tangled up in yet another mess that could send her into a tailspin.  Which she can’t afford right now, since that photography contest is coming up, and fast.

Chantel Guertin‘s THE RULE OF THIRDS is a fast-paced and fun contemporary novel that manages to tackle some could-have-been-tough social issues (friendship, loss, mental illness) with grace and a side of humor.  This is definitely the kind of book that Susane Colasanti and Sarah Dessen fans will enjoy curling up with this fall.