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Summary

My wish
is to fall
cranium over Converse
in dizzy, daydream-worthy
love.

(If only it were that easy.)

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?

Love and Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl’s journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

Starred Review From School Library Journal, January, 2012
Gr 8 Up–After bumping into her husband with his boyfriend at the grocery store, Marcie’s mother decides to stay at the family’s summer home in New Hampshire rather than return to Idaho with him. The teen’s life is turned upside-down; she has to start over at a new school away from her friends, The Leftovers, and from her “emo-sensitive rocker” boyfriend. Things start looking up when she meets a good-looking jock who brings her breakfast and takes her to the homecoming dance. Then, when she seems to be settling in, her severely depressed mother thinks she will be better off in Boise, and Marcie is whisked back to her old life, where she comes to understand her father better and questions her relationship with her boyfriend. Told in verse, the story takes a realistic look at the emotional roller coaster that is first love. Marcie doesn’t always make sensible decisions, and she hurts her boyfriend and alienates her friends, but her actions are believable. The Leftovers are an easily relatable crowd: a poetic rock-star wannabe, a manga-drawing tattooed best friend, a geeky swimmer, and a cheerful Girl Scout, to name a few. The author does a terrific job of keeping the plot moving by using poetry to her advantage. Reluctant readers will appreciate the brevity while poetic souls will appreciate the format.
–Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Stark County District Library, Canton, OH

From Booklist January 2012:
This debut novel in verse effectively captures the angsty life of 16-year-old Marcie Foster. After her father leaves her mother for a 27-year-old man, Marcie and her depressed mom move from Idaho to a family summer home in New Hampshire. Here Marcie falls for J. D., a boy who is an irresistible cross between Prince Harry (his hair) and David Beckham (his abs). Only problem: Linus, her emo-rocker boyfriend 2,000 miles away. Seven months later, Marcie moves back to Idaho with her father, confesses to Linus, and has to deal with the fallout. Marcie funnels her pain into writing poetry— “there is no three strikes / when it comes to dating. / One heartbreak and that’s it.”—and her poems, which vary in form, are what compose this verse novel. While the subjects cover typical teenage problems, including breakups, friendships, and parental issues, Tregay adds depth with her ability, in just a few words, to palpably express both the emotions of love and the physical longings that go along with it. This first novel may make teenage readers’ hearts beat a bit faster.
— Ann Kelley

From Publisher's Weekly
November 28, 2011:
Poems, IM conversations, and emo love songs make up Tregay’s emotionally turbulent debut novel in verse. Sophomore Marcie Foster unwillingly moves from Idaho to her mother’s childhood home in New Hampshire after her father leaves her mother for a male bartender. Marcie is resentful until she realizes the move could be a chance to remake herself, escaping the image of a “Leftover” who doesn’t fit in. When she begins a heated relationship with popular athlete J.D., cheating on Linus, her sensitive musician boyfriend back home, she questions her nonphysical relationship with Linus (“I wonder/ if my boyfriend is gay./ That would explain/ why he never once/ took off/ my/ clothes”).

Seven months later Marcie returns to Idaho, and things are more confusing than ever. The formal variety of Tregay’s poems creates an immediacy that should maintain readers’ interest and sympathy for Marcie. With multiple shredded relationships and friendships, there’s more than enough angst to go around, as Marcie rages against the decisions her parents have made, as well as her own.

From Kirkus Reviews
October 1, 2011:
A girl cheats on her boyfriend, regrets it and writes it all in poems in this new verse novel.

Marcie moves to New Hampshire with her depressed and inattentive mother when her parents split. Her dad, it seems, is gay and has begun life with a new boyfriend. Marcie wants to return to Idaho and her friends, the “leftovers” in her high school, including her own boyfriend, musician Linus. Meanwhile, however, she meets drop-dead handsome J.D. ...

Tregay’s choice to write in verse works well, her spare but effective language artfully evoking what otherwise might be a conventional high-school romance. Personalities stand out well, especially Marcie, Linus and J.D. Marcie’s loneliness and guilt drive the story until its resolution. The father’s completely accepted gay relationship, although mostly in the background, adds an element of interest. It all feels realistic and makes for an interesting, attractive novel.

A verse novel with real depth to accompany all that white space.

From VOYA
November 2011:
4Q 4P J S - When Marcie’s father declares he is gay and has a boyfriend named Danny, her mother uproots her from their Boise home and moves them to Durham, New Hampshire, near her mother’s family. The sixteen-year-old leaves behind her boyfriend, Linus, and her BFF, Katie. Thinking New Hampshire is short term, Marcie does not make friends, so she is surprised when JD, a cute jock, starts up a friendship. Starved for affection since her mother is depressed and stays in bed many days, Marcie grabs onto JD who is not only cute but also a gentleman. As the semester progresses, she and JD essentially become boyfriend/girlfriend, all the while Marcie feels guilty about cheating on Linus, 2,000 miles away. By Christmas break, her parents decide it is best for Marcie to live with her father and Danny. Home again, Marcie tells Linus of her friendship with JD, causing a breakup.

This reader was pleasantly surprised by Tregay’s novel-in-verse, Love and Leftovers She accurately portrays Marcie’s quest for affection, her confusion over her father’s announcement, her feelings for JD and Linus, and her need to help her mother while living her own life. Through poetry and chats, she and Katie ponder love and passion. Marcie is honest when she writes that she would like to do more than kiss JD or Linus and is happy when JD gets to second base. Although the words are simple, the themes of Love and Leftovers are not. The cover art will attract readers. It is worth the read. —Ed Goldberg.