Ari Mitchell has always felt overlooked in the midst of her more beautiful sister and best friend. So when she transfers to a new school and meets a glam classmate who introduces her to her cute cousin, Ari falls for him hard.
Despite what it sounds like, I wouldn’t really classify this as a romance. It’s much more about Ari discovering who she is, and not really liking what she discovers. She doesn’t even meet her love interest until a third of the way through the book, so the beginning of the novel is all about Ari interacting with her friends and family.
What I really loved about this book was how achingly honest it felt. - from the way Ari steals a shirt from her sisters husband so she can breathe in his scent, to the very raw depiction of first love. Even when the narrative veers into decidedly melodramatic overtones late in the book, Ari felt real.
I’m not really sure why this was set in the 1980s (a pet peeve of Kelly J. from Stacked blog), so I had to think of her when I was reading. I guess it sort of added a sense of nostalgia – the kind you feel for a first love – that wouldn’t be there if it were a contemporary setting. So there’s that.
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8 comments:
This sounds sweet and I like the fact that it's not paranormal.
I've been meaning to read more contemporary... well, I guess this one isn't contemporary really. But realistic fiction. So yeah, I need to read more of that. Maybe I'll pick this one up!
I hadn't heard of this book before, but it's sort of surprising that it's not a romance. I would have thought that with the title being what it is, and the synopsis having the streak of romance in it, it would have been a little more focused on romantic aspects. The fact that it is set in the 80's also sort of intrigues me. I am totally a child of the 80's and like to read books set in that time period. Great review today, Lenore!
This sounds good... I like that you say it is not really a romance, which is really not my genre of choice. :)
I'm thinking this one may not be for me.
I really loved this book and it was because Ari felt so real to me, just like you said.
It took me forever to respond to this one, eh?
I think I'll pick this up when the year clicks over. I'm going to start limiting my unnecessarily-set-in-the-1980s books to 3 per year, and this'll be the first since you told me I should read it, and I trust your opinion.
I absolutely loved this one -- it did feel completely raw and honest, and definitely evoked some feelings of nostalgia on my end! I teared up a few times while reading. Very moving.
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