There were a few pop culture toss outs that had me worried teens wouldn’t connect: Do they know who Winona Ryder is and about her shoplifting habit? I’m not sure. Smith manages to dig beneath the surface just enough to go beyond broad stereotypes and develop some meaningful dialogue and relationships while providing enough snark and wit for modern day readers. Your teens looking for a fast read with contemporary themes will definitely find what they are looking for in Trinkets. This is a quick read, clocking in at 288 pages with a fast, breezy pace. Side note: If your boyfriend won’t acknowledge you in public, he doesn’t deserve you. Her story more than any really broke my heart. Moe is a good girl gone bad who is secretly dating the boy across the street who won’t publicly acknowledge her. There is this scene where Elodie goes to a party and compares new friendship to that of a life long tree, and it is in moments like these that Smith really captures the essence of being a teen. Elodie’s part of the story is told in verse, which sometimes worked for me and sometimes seemed unnecessary. I loved that she seemed like one thing but the voice in her head was something completely different.Įlodie is the yearbook photographer and new girl, in the area around 4 months. Smith is best at developing and conveying the stark emptiness found inside Tabitha.

She could be a stereotype, but her observations about the people around her show depth and insight. Tabitha is the queen bee with the super hunky boyfriend. Told in alternating points of view, we have the popular girl, the bad girl, and the new girl. In kind of a cross between The Breakfast Club (where we see different social groups come together because they did something wrong) and The Fault in Our Stars (the Shoplifter Anonymous scenes reminded me of the cancer support group in TFiOS), 3 girls wind up spending time sitting in a basement for Shoplifters Anonymous, where they are asked to bare their souls and work through their issues. Means way more than one that’s been boughtīecause of what you had to go through to get it.” – Kirsten Smith, Trinketsĭon’t get caught is their mantra, but when they do, Tabitha, Elodie and Moe find out that these three girls who seem to have nothing in common have more in common then they could ever have imagined.

Klepto by Jenny Pollack