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A review by stephxsu
Play Me by Laura Ruby
2.0
Eighteen-year-old Ed Rochester thinks he has it all. He and his friends’ movie production, Riot Grrl 16, is doing well in MTV’s movie contest, and Ed thinks he has a good shot of winning and becoming the next Orson Welles. He is also a successful ladies’ man, something that he prides himself on but otherwise doesn’t give much thought to. His family is odd—his mother abandoned him, his dad, his stepdad, and his young half-brother for an acting role in Miami—but he doesn’t let that get him down.
Then he remeets Lucinda Dulko. Athletic, unknowingly sexy, and intimidatingly self-confident, Eddy is nearly overwhelmed by her. She’s not his usual delicate, needy, hookup type, but that doesn’t stop him from falling head over heels for her.
However, just when he thinks his life is perfect, everything falls apart. What will Ed do in the face of so much disappointment and feelings he’s never experienced before?
PLAY ME has nearly the same plot of Thu-Huong Ha’s HAIL CAESAR, about a player getting his heart broken, and the story, once again, doesn’t work for me. Maybe I’m a sucker for happy endings, but there are many moments in the novel that I didn’t feel were at all believable, and the first half of the book dragged. The book is chock full of movie references and easy-to-read narration, but I was left not caring for the characters, which is disappointing because I loved Laura Ruby’s first YA novel GOOD GIRLS so much. Perhaps I will enjoy future books of herselfs more. I certainly hope so.
Then he remeets Lucinda Dulko. Athletic, unknowingly sexy, and intimidatingly self-confident, Eddy is nearly overwhelmed by her. She’s not his usual delicate, needy, hookup type, but that doesn’t stop him from falling head over heels for her.
However, just when he thinks his life is perfect, everything falls apart. What will Ed do in the face of so much disappointment and feelings he’s never experienced before?
PLAY ME has nearly the same plot of Thu-Huong Ha’s HAIL CAESAR, about a player getting his heart broken, and the story, once again, doesn’t work for me. Maybe I’m a sucker for happy endings, but there are many moments in the novel that I didn’t feel were at all believable, and the first half of the book dragged. The book is chock full of movie references and easy-to-read narration, but I was left not caring for the characters, which is disappointing because I loved Laura Ruby’s first YA novel GOOD GIRLS so much. Perhaps I will enjoy future books of herselfs more. I certainly hope so.