Better Than Running at Night by Hillary Frank

My first review in a while.

This book surprised me with its honest portrayal of a girl's first year at art school. Ellie meets Nate at a costume party her first night staying at New England College of the Arts. He is mysterious and alluring; flattering in all the right ways. Ellie feels they are soul mates and draws lines of fate between their similar pasts. As the semester wears on, she realizes that there is more to herself than the past and quickly outgrows Nate's flighty adventurousness. She sometimes regrets her decision to leave him behind, but sticks to her resolve and moves on.

I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions of the feelings of first love were genuine. I also loved hearing about Ellies experiences in art school, having never taken art classes myself. Frank does a great job ballancing the stereotype of art for the sake of art vs serious students trying to improve their skills. I would recommend it for older readers, 16 and up for content, reading and maturity level.