In My Sweetest Escape, Chelsea Cameron brings us a young woman who is both bitterly resentful and surprisingly funny. Jos Archer, a former star student at the University of New Hampshire, has recently suffered a "fall from grace" that prompted her to drop out of school and abandon all of her friends. Though she constantly refers to this turning point, the details of what occurred are kept hidden away. What is clear is that the experience has made her personality stranger, darker--with a lasting impact on her self-identity.
As part of her recovery, Jos transfers to another college in Maine to live with her studious older sister. There, she encounters Dusty, a flirty friend of her sister who chats up Jos every chance he gets. Despite his cockiness, there is something warm about Dusty that will charm readers along with Jos. Yet there's also something suspicious in his fixation with her, creating both sexual and narrative tension. Eventually, her past resurfaces in a way that both explains and taints their bond.
Though all of Cameron's characters feel genuine and likable, the most inspiring is Jos's friend Hannah, whose face is marred by a severe burn. Hannah's physical scar mirrors Jos's intangible psychological wound, and yet the former is arguably more self-assured. Their inverse situations seem to suggest the ability to hide one's pain can ultimately be a greater curse--and that Jos must unlearn this ability in order to let new love into her life. --Annie Atherton