5 out of 6 for the Young Adult Romance Challengegenre: young adult romance
rating: 3/5
Remy never knew her dad. He was a musician who left her mom and died before Remy could ever get to know him - all she has of her dad is a song he wrote to her when she was a baby. Subsequent husbands (aka step dads - four, to be exact) don't do much to convince Remy that true love is even a possibility. The summer before she heads across the country for college is supposed to be a carefree one - she has no desire to leave behind any attachments - especially with a guy. So when Dexter, the clumsy, curly haired musician decides they've "got something," Remy is quick to shut him down. Bless his heart, that darling, optimistic boy gets under her skin until she has to finally decide whether or not real love is even worth trying.
While the story is compelling (the writing is often humorous and I was engaged enough to want to find out how it would all end up), I just did not like Remy as a character. I know that her attitude was a result of a harsh and reality-filled upbringing with step-dads coming and going like the latest fads, but I still found it grating on me. I didn't like how much Remy depended on alcohol and one night stands to help her feel better about her refusal to commit to one boy. I don't doubt that there are real teenagers out there like this, or who have friends like this - and probably they would really love this book. I can imagine that it may even be great for some teenage girls to have Remy as a character they can relate to. But for me, the foul language and stupid choices got in my way of enjoying the love story.
5 comments:
I'm bummed you didn't like this one more. I haven't read it but I've got Someone Like You on my bookshelf to read. Definitely still read The Truth About Forever though.
Sara completely agrees with your assessment of this one. Her response to my query was, "I liked it, but...not, like, amazingly."
Not a big fan of unnecessary foul language either. I've seen this author's name around a lot lately--I know Joy has recently reviewed some of her books. Sounds like this maybe isn't the best of the bunch?
I left you an award. :)
I love Sarah Dessen and I'm glad to see someone else does too! I recommend The Truth About Forever and Along for the Ride if you haven't read those yet.
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