A review by kaitrosereads
Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse

4.0

Rockoholic has been on my wishlist for quite some time. C.J. Skuse is a British author who received high praise for both this book and her previous book, Pretty Bad Things. After reading this one, I will definitely be checking out her previous and future books.

Jody is a confused teenage girl who is obsessed with rock idol, Jackson Gatlin. And I mean like stalkerish obsessed. When chances places them together she decides it would be a good idea to kidnap the star. Needless to say, shenanigans ensue and things get very crazy, very quickly. Jody is hilarious but most of the time she doesn’t mean to be. She’s angry at the world (and her mother), she doesn’t think anyone understands her, and she just wants to be loved (preferrably by Jackson Gatlin.) She doesn’t think things through, that’s for sure, but her impulsive nature was one of the things I loved best about her. I think every girl has a bit of Jody in her which makes her very easy to relate to. As for Jackson, well let’s just say that he wasn’t all he was cracked up to be. He was a very confused guy who needed help and in a way, Jody definitely helped him. Jody’s best friend, Mac, was probably the best character in the book (along with his little sister.) He was sweet, funny, smart, and very level-headed. He balanced out Jody’s craziness. There was just a really good cast of characters.

Rockoholic is probably one of the most awkwardly funny books I’ve read. Jody’s stalkerish tendencies make for some very funny scenarios. Almost every situation seems impossible to get out of but she and Mac always find some hilarious way out. There is a lot of humor in this book and readers will definitely laugh out loud quite a few times. However, what surprised me about Rockoholic were the more serious undertones having to do with drugs and alcohol. There is certainly quite a bit of lightheartedness to this book but that’s not all it is.

Overall, Rockoholic is a very fresh contemporary young adult book. There are some heavier topics touched upon and I would have to put a warning as far as younger readers giving this one a shot but other than that, I highly recommend it.