Review: Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham

Title: Reunited
Author: Hilary Weisman Graham
Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Category:  Contemporary
Release date: June 12th, 2012
Pages: 365 (ARC)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Publisher
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1 Concert
2000 Miles
3 Ex-Best Friends
Alice, Summer, and Tiernan are ex-best friends.

Back in middle school, the three girls were inseparable. They were also the number one fans of the rock band Level3.

But when the band broke up, so did their friendship. Summer ran with the popular crowd, Tiernan was a rebellious wild-child, and Alice spent high school with her nose buried in books.

Now, just as the girls are about to graduate, Level3 announces a one-time-only reunion show. Even though the concert’s 2000 miles away, Alice buys three tickets on impulse. And as it turns out, Summer and Tiernan have their own reasons for wanting to get out of town. Good thing Alice’s graduation gift (a pea-green 1976 VW camper van known as the Pea Pod) is just the vehicle to get them there.

But on the long drive cross-country, the girls hit more than a few bumps in the road. Will their friendship get an encore or is the show really over?

Being trapped in a 1976 pea-green Volkswagen bus with your two ex-best friends doesn't seem like the ideal summer vacation, but some how, it turns out to be so much more for Alice, Summer and Tiernan.  When Alice gets the news that Level3 are having a reunion show, she jumps the gun and buys three tickets without thinking about what would happen if Summer and Tiernan said no.  After all, once-upon-a-time, they were inseparable.  In Reunited, we find out what split the girls apart in the first place and what sticky situations bring them back together in a way they never imagined.

Each of the girls were able to steal your heart from the moment they got into the cleverly named VW bus, The Pea Pod, and began their journey across the country.  I imagine Level3 to be what *NSYNC was to me and I know if they were ever to get back together, I'd be there in a heartbeat.  While Alice is just looking for a little summer fun and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Tiernan plans to break out of her bedroom where she's been condemned to until college begins, and Summer just wants to get away from her fresh break up, lies and heartache.

I enjoyed all three of their personalities.  Each of the girls were completely different, but they were able to originally bond because of their love of this band.  Alice seemed to be the level-headed, well-planned one, Tiernan was reckless (and in a way, her I-don't-give-a-sh*t personality saved them a few times) and Summer is the misunderstood popular girl that I wouldn't have thought I'd get so easily attached to.  Besides the characters, the shenanigans that they got themselves into were hilarious.  From the zombie squirrel to the possible murderer, the author made this story so fun that you just have to keep reading.

Yet not everything was smooth sailing.  Nothing about this trip was easy for them and that's what helped them communicate and rekindle their friendship.  I can't imagine having to go through everything the girls went through just for one special moment together again after spending 4 years apart, from the best times to the most upsetting ones.  Reunited is an entertaining and light contemporary 2012 debut that will leave you grinning like a fool until the very last page.