Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: December 19, 2012
Genre: New Adult Romance
Format: Kindle 1099 KB
Buy this book on Amazon: Kindle Edition
Author's Website: http://colleenhoover.com/
Author's Goodreads Profile: Colleen Hoover
Synopsis from Goodreads:
My Thoughts...Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.
If you have seen my Top 10 {11} picks of 2012 post then you know that I loved this book! I am going to try my best to do this review without any spoiler because you know how much I hate a spoilery review! I have had a couple of weeks to think about this book and initially I had thought that I liked it better than Slammed, but the more I think about it I am not sure that's the case. It's definitely right up there though. Sky is a teenager who actually has never attended high school. She has always been home-schooled, but her mother has finally let her enroll in the local high school for the new year. Her adoptive mother comes across as kind of a hippie. She is opposed to all things electronic like TV's, phones, iPods, computers, etc...so Sky gets her fix through her best friend and next door neighbor Six, who's name is actually Seven!! Six likes boys, a lot, and her bedroom window is a revolving "door" of boys and she likes to fix Sky up with her current flame's friends. Sky feels nothing one way or another about any of the guys she makes out with. She literally doesn't feel anything at all when she is kissing them so she isn't really into it, but she goes along with it for Six. She is going into her first year at an actual school with a, somewhat deserved, bad reputation.
Dean Holder is back at school after being gone for awhile and the rumors are circulating as to where he has spent his time away. The most popular opinion is that he was in juvie for beating someone up. Sky and Dean share a love for running and that's kind of initially how they meet.
Sky and Holder each have secrets that they are either hiding or repressing. There are so many things that bring them together and others that keep them together. Holder is really one of the most "grown-up" male characters I have read in a YA romance in quite some time. He has a really good grasp on how to help Sky deal with her issues and he is truly the best thing that happens to her. I just love him! Sky's story is so emotional and while you will see some things coming this doesn't lessen the impact of how heartbreaking it is for her.
There are some pretty adult and very touchy issues that are dealt with in this book so be prepared. I think that Ms. Hoover did an excellent job covering this sensitive subject without it being too weird. There is also some sexual content, but I felt it was all done really tastefully. This is not your typical YA and I think that's why they are classifying it as New Adult. It's like a step above YA. It's not written with your "fade to black" typical YA sexual situations. These are tastefully written scenes, but they are written and not glossed over.
This is one of those books that I will buy when the print version comes out and I will read it over again. It's a really great story and I think that's it's really well written. I usually try to comment on the actual writing, but when the story is this good I tend not to get too caught up in the technical stuff. I am too busy enjoying the story to worry about all that! Ms. Hoover does a really great job with the story flow though, and her characters are the characters that I can't get out of my head. I start to feel so strongly for them that I just can't stop thinking about them and to me that's something that makes a great story and why all 3 of her books were in my Top Picks for 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment