Althea  Oliver, Cristina Moracho
Althea  Oliver, Cristina Moracho
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Althea & Oliver

Author: Cristina Moracho

Narrator: Jorjeana Marie

Unabridged: 11 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/09/2014


Synopsis

What if you live for the moment when life goes off the rails—and then one day there’s no one left to help you get it back on track?
 
Althea Carter and Oliver McKinley have been best friends since they were six; she’s the fist-fighting instigator to his peacemaker, the artist whose vision balances his scientific bent. Now, as their junior year of high school comes to a close, Althea has begun to want something more than just best-friendship. Oliver, for his part, simply wants life to go back to normal, but when he wakes up one morning with no memory of the past three weeks, he can’t deny any longer that something is seriously wrong with him. And then Althea makes the worst bad decision ever, and her relationship with Oliver is shattered. He leaves town for a clinical study in New York, resolving to repair whatever is broken in his brain, while she gets into her battered Camry and drives up the coast after him, determined to make up for what she’s done.

Their journey will take them from the rooftops, keg parties, and all-ages shows of their North Carolina hometown to the pool halls, punk houses, and hospitals of New York City before they once more stand together and face their chances. Set in the DIY, mix tape, and zine culture of the mid-1990s, Cristina Moracho’s whip-smart debut is an achingly real story about identity, illness, and love—and why bad decisions sometimes feel so good.

About The Author

Cristina Moracho completed her MFA in fiction at Brooklyn College. The first chapter of Althea and Oliver was selected by Jim Shepard to receive the 2008 Lainoff Award. She was awarded a 2012 Wurlitzer Foundation Fellowship.Jorjeana Marie has narrated numerous audiobooks, starred in the TV movie Listen to Grandpa, Andy Ling, and performed as a stand-up comic, opening for Richard Lewis, Louie Anderson, and Kathleen Madigan. Her voice can be heard in such video games as Final FantasyCrackdown 2, and Star Guardians.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Althea on October 23, 2014

Full disclosure: I read this book because of the title. Yeah, that's my name... and when the blurb told me it was about a punk rock girl moving to New York... I was sold. Well, it's not, really. It's about a girl whose best friend from childhood comes down with a rare and life-changing illness. Althea......more

Goodreads review by Sara on November 22, 2014

Althea and Oliver have been best friends since age six, their very different personalities somehow balancing and combining to form a whole. Life without the other is unimaginable, until Oliver develops a sleeping illness tears them apart for weeks and months at a time. While Oliver loses chunks of h......more

Goodreads review by Wendy Darling on September 07, 2016

2.5 stars I think fans of WHITE LINES or BROOKLYN, BURNING will appreciate the style. I liked the first half better than the second, though I liked the atypical ending. But yeah, (view spoiler)[rape is rape (hide spoiler)] regardless of context.......more

Goodreads review by Eunice (nerdytalksbookblog) on February 23, 2015

This book is anything but typical. Do not expect the mushy cheesy type. Do not expect swooning and gushing. Do not expect for the typical love story. Expect what real raw love is. Expect the unconventional affection. Expect that reality isn't always as beautiful as you hoped it to be, that reali......more

Goodreads review by Kristen on January 26, 2018

This was really good. I loved the writing. It was so rich and beautiful and raw and real. I grew very attached to the two main characters, Althea and Oliver. I liked this much, much more than I was expecting to, thanks to the undeservedly low ratings here on Goodreads. This was a pleasant surprise.......more


Quotes

Praise for Althea and Oliver:

“A gorgeous, glorious, unforgettable novel about punk rock, bad decisions, falling in love, and the messy beauty of growing up. Althea and Oliver is a flawlessly-crafted straight shot to the heart.” —Sarah McCarry, author of All Our Pretty Songs
 
“I can't wait to tell people about this one. It’s mind-blowingly good.” —Molly Templeton, WORD Books