4.5 Celeste loving stars! 
 Live the life you've dreamed. 
 Words to live by for all of us. 
 Okay, full disclosure here. I am a huge fan of Jessica Park! I loved Flat Out Love, it was and remains one of my favorite books of all time. Flat Out Matt was awesome, and so satisfying. AND, although not a "Flat Out" book, Left Drowning almost killed me! And I loved it. 
 So, when I finally got to read Celeste's book, I was excited, but apprehensive. My apprehension came purely from "the word on the street". I'm not going to listen to the "word" any more. FOC is a beautiful story, with wonderfully flawed characters. But, it was not so heart crushing or angst filled that I should have taken pause about whether I should dive right in or not. So, if you are on the fence - don't be. Read it. Now! 
 Flat Out Celeste tells the story of FOL's and FOM's, Matt Watkins, quirky little sister, Celeste. Celeste is now 18, a senior in high school and trying to figure out where to go to college. In regular (and wonderful) Jessica Park fashion, we see communication between our leads by way of modern technology. In this case, most occurs in email and text. There is something so different in the way that we, as a society, communicate with each other using technology, rather than speaking in person (or even over the phone), and Jessica does this brilliantly. There are things that we maybe would not say, had it not been through text. And conversely, there is the unsaid in texts that is missing that one gets while communicating in person or by speaking. 
 The wonderful thing about these two leads, Celeste and Justin is their equal, and different quirkiness that shines in this book, and through this unique way of story telling. Now, don't get me wrong, the entire book is not told through texting and emailing, but the little pieces of email and text back and forth between Celeste and Justin are like little nuggets of joy. 
 I loved both of these characters, quirks and all. And, Park focuses on both of their eccentricities, only because they seem so different to the "normal" every day person. Both characters know that they are different and "diagnosable" but that does not really matter to the other. And, it certainly did not matter to this reader! Thank god for differences, I say. 
 In reading FOC, I feel like an older sister to Celeste, and so, when she found someone so perfect for her, in Justin, it just melted my heart and made me fall hard for Justin. 
 Justin: "Celeste, you're sweet, but I'm bothersome. There's no way around it." 
 "You do not bother me." 
 "Why?" 
 "Why what?" 
 "Why don't I bother you with all my... stuff?" 
 Celeste was confused. "Why would you being who you are bother me?" 
 Why indeed, Celeste? Aren't they just so darn cute? 
 This relationship is truly Celeste's first... everything. First date, first kiss, first love. And Park did such a great job keeping this story real, and true to the characters. And, it was such fun to go through this book of firsts with Celeste. 
 Not only do we get the cuteness of Celeste and Justin, but we also get a glimpse into the lives of Matt and Julie from Flat-Out Love. I do not want to give away ANY of these details. Each reader must read for themselves. But, I can say that the interaction between Celeste and Matt and Celeste and Julie was just as I remember from reading FOL so long ago. And Matt's protectiveness was even more evident in FOC (in an almost heartbreaking way - you'll know what I mean when you get to that part). 
 There is so much to learn from this book - about how to treat people in particular. Just because someone may seem different, speak formally (oh, and after I read certain passages, I found myself not using contractions in my daily speech - is that weird?), or talk a LOT, it does not mean that they should not be given the same opportunities or be treated any differently. I recently read a post by Ms. Park where she addressed the whole "diagnosis" issue. What is wrong with Celeste?... What is her diagnosis?... In that post, Ms. Park indicated that she never felt a desire to diagnose Celeste (or Justin for that matter), and while I was initially curious, prior to reading FOC, I realized there is really no reason for us to compartmentalize people. We should all "live the life we've dreamed" being true to ourselves.