Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
This was a quick re-read for me. I remembered reading it years ago and enjoying it. I still did. While it was not amazing or unique it had a good concept and Jackie's character was enjoyable. I wanted more from the ending though.
This is the second book I've read by Ali Novak. She has a writing style that draws you in right away, making it difficult to put the book down until the story is finished. Is it particularly deep and meaningful? No, but I don't think every book has to be deep and meaningful. This is YA romantic fiction, not literary fiction. It's fun and fluffy, and written in a way that makes you want to know what happens to the people she's writing about. I don't think you can ask for more than that.
Jackie is the main character. She recently lost her family in an accident and is moving to Colorado to live with her mom's BFF and family. The plat isn't quite like the movie Beaches because Katherine has 12 kids. Because there are so many people, there isn't a lot of character development and I had to go back to Jackie's list about who was who several times to remind myself of the age of the boy she was talking to, hanging out with, etc.
As the parent of two teens, I want to know where Katherine and her husband were for most of this story. Jackie has gone through some major stuff and they basically just leave her with their kids, most who are not happy to have her around, and let her deal. Some of the crap the guys pull "all in good fun" was pretty bad. Some parenting would have been nice.
It was good to see Jackie grow from this uptight, Type A Park Avenue princess to someone with a little more depth, but she never quite gets there because of the love triangle. I think I was supposed to sympathize with Jackie about the triangle, but I felt like she led both people on. Even for someone with so little experience with boys (she used to attend an all girls boarding school), she had to know going off with one guy when dating the other was wrong.
Still, despite these issues, I read the story quickly and was pleased with how it ended. This was Novak's first book, which she wrote on Wattpad, and I'm not going to begrudge anyone who dreamt of writing a book and made it happen. Good for her!
I'm reading some pretty heavy nonfiction right now, so this was a nice break from being sad and depressed about the state of the world. Like I said, fluffy can be fun.
Jackie is the main character. She recently lost her family in an accident and is moving to Colorado to live with her mom's BFF and family. The plat isn't quite like the movie Beaches because Katherine has 12 kids. Because there are so many people, there isn't a lot of character development and I had to go back to Jackie's list about who was who several times to remind myself of the age of the boy she was talking to, hanging out with, etc.
As the parent of two teens, I want to know where Katherine and her husband were for most of this story. Jackie has gone through some major stuff and they basically just leave her with their kids, most who are not happy to have her around, and let her deal. Some of the crap the guys pull "all in good fun" was pretty bad. Some parenting would have been nice.
It was good to see Jackie grow from this uptight, Type A Park Avenue princess to someone with a little more depth, but she never quite gets there because of the love triangle. I think I was supposed to sympathize with Jackie about the triangle, but I felt like she led both people on. Even for someone with so little experience with boys (she used to attend an all girls boarding school), she had to know going off with one guy when dating the other was wrong.
Still, despite these issues, I read the story quickly and was pleased with how it ended. This was Novak's first book, which she wrote on Wattpad, and I'm not going to begrudge anyone who dreamt of writing a book and made it happen. Good for her!
I'm reading some pretty heavy nonfiction right now, so this was a nice break from being sad and depressed about the state of the world. Like I said, fluffy can be fun.
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was not the best, lots of really unnecessary exposition. However, I definitely found the characters more likeable than the TV show. The end of this book was so unnecessarily dramatic though lmao
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Objectively not very well-written. Subjectively, a masterpiece haha. I am riding the high of having watched this show and this filled some of the craving.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This felt a bit young for me but it was still a cute story. Looking forward to hopefully having a book 2 and getting to see the continuation of the story!