Wednesday Reads: The One that I Want

The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols

Synopsis:

Gemma can’t believe her luck when the star football player starts flirting with her. Max is totally swoon-worthy, and even gets her quirky sense of humor. So when he asks out her so-called best friend Addison, Gemma’s heartbroken. 

Then Addison pressures Gemma to join the date with one of Max’s friends. But the more time they all spend together, the harder Gemma falls for Max. She can’t help thinking that Max likes her back—it’s just too bad he’s already dating Addison. How can Gemma get the guy she wants without going after her best friend’s boyfriend?

First Line: "As I opened my locker, an envelope fell toward me with Gemma written in Robert's tight scrawl. My majorette tryout was in ten minutes. He must have known I'd stop here to dump my books and grab my batons before I ran down to the gym. For two years we'd been sending each other Grandparent's Day cards on our birthdays and Halloween cards on Christmas. Now he had sent me this St. Patrick's Day or Father's Day card to wish me good luck."

I had to give you the first paragraph. The first line itself isn't telling by itself, but what comes after is. We immediately know Gemma has someone close to her and they both have a quirky sense of humor. This quickly, with five sentences, we've established the status quo. And just as quickly, it's uprooted. We very quickly (key word here--quickly--sorry for the repetition) learn a little back story about how Gemma used to be overweight and she'd always been held back by a lack of self-confidence, but also that she was so motivated by her love of twirling (the "it" thing for girls in the school instead of cheering) that she lost a lot of weight and came out of her shell enough to tryout. Also established in the first few pages is that her friends are kind of asses but she doesn't realize this. Gemma is a real and tangible character, one any girl can relate to, she's flawed and fallible. I'd describe her as a Lola meets The Duff type character, with a character arch and personality everyone can root for.

Brownie Points: I have to give it to Jennifer Echols, no matter how many books of hers I read, I'm always so impressed with how fast she wins me over. Honestly, the synopsis didn't appeal to me. Yay, a love triangle and teenage emotions (insert sarcastic finger twirl here). But there is so much substance here, characters that defy the premise and make it so interesting. I might have called Addison an ass earlier, but she isn't a one dimensional character you come to hate. No, you come to understand her and sympathize with her, even root for her too.

Recommendation: If you love YA contemporary, or just novels with complex characters that find full redemption, or a summer type read, or something that makes you smile, definitely this is for you.

Would I represent it? For sure!

Happy reading!

 

Wednesday Reads: Love Story

Love Story by Jennifer Echols. I decided a month or two ago that I would read as many Jennifer Echols books as I can. I didn't get all that far (I had to make sacrifices for the sake of the leaning tower of TBRs), but I'm glad I at least read Love Story. Honestly, I hadn't read the back cover when I decided to read it, but I did right before I started reading. I couldn't open the cover fast enough. Then I started reading. And I didn't stop. I almost read it all in one sitting, but that elusive thing called sleep made me put it down. It was funny, surprising, and so, so true. Beautiful character development.

Synopsis:

SHE'S WRITING ABOUT HIM. HE'S WRITING ABOUT HER. AND EVERYBODY IS READING BETWEEN THE LINES.
For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions--it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?
Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter . . . except this story could come true.

First Sentence: "Captain Vanderslice was something of an ass." The first few pages are Erin's first submission to her creative writing class, which actually shows so much about her. I warn caution if ever you try to do this, very tricky, but when it's done right, it's to great effect.

Brownie Points: Like I said: character development. Also, use of short stories within a larger story--those are plain hilarious. I actually laughed out loud several times reading this book. I connected really well with Erin--probably better than I have with almost any other Echols character... not sure what that says about me.

Beefs: It ended.

Recommendation: If you haven't explored YA "romantic drama" or really any Jennifer Echols, I highly suggest it. So highly, if I had the book in my hands and we met on the street, I'd force you to read it right then and there and stare at you the entire time. Also, that sounds really fun. And creepy.

Would I represent it? Consider me looking for romantic drama. Officially. The trick though, is spectacular character development. There's no swashbuckling, so your characters can't hide behind fancy footwork.

Happy reading!

Wednesday Reads: Forget You

Forget You by Jennifer Echols was awesome. It's a "romantic drama" and I thought from the genre I would hate it. Soap Opera for teens, right? Wrong! It was beautifully pieced together and I loved all the characters and interactions.

Synopsis:

WHY CAN'T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET...AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER?
There's a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four-year old girlfriend. Like Zoey's fear that the whole town will find out about her mom's nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. With her life about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she's the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.
But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there's one thing she can't remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people—suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

First Sentence: "Every strong swimmer has a story about nearly drowning. This is mine." Compelled to read yet?

Beefs: One aspect about the main character is that she is a swimmer, and all of her friends are also on the swim team. It's a nice change from cheerleaders and it provides a built-in community. I would have liked to have seen more of Zoey's swimming--at the beginning she mentions that she isn't the strongest swimmer on the team and towards the end she decides she's going to try harder to be a better swimmer. I wanted more of this internal development. It's not a sports book, but it's an aspect of the character that was intriguing. Not that this detracted from the novel in any way. Maybe I need to go start reading sports books? Haha.

Brownie Points: Oh my. Where to start? The interactions between the characters? The secondary characters? How much of an ass her father is? Zoey's quirks? The twists and turns? The beginning? The middle? The end? The voice? Have I left anything out? Haha.

Recommendation: I won't recommend it to EVERYONE, only because I know a lot of you won't go read it because it's "drama". But I dare you to go pick it up. I double doggie dare you.

Would I represent it? Yes. I'm officially looking for "romantic dramas."

Happy reading!