Author: Katie Cotugno
Publication Date: April 21, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 384
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Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.
Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”
Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.
Over the few years that I have really been involved in the book community I’ve heard people say that they really liked Katie Cotugno’s writing. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to give her books a go. Now I’m not really one to read contemporary YA. I will read it, but I feel like it has to have a lot of certain qualities for me to like it, and this book did not have them.
Oh god the protagonist is the most boring and lamest protagonist I've read for such a long time... I just don't get how she manages to make TWO BOYS not one to fall in love with her. Given the fact that she is NOT EVEN NICE and has no "real" sense of humor. So Throughout the book I just kept an empty face of disgust, waiting for change.
And it really doesn’t. I didn’t really see much development with the main character, or any character for that matter. As for both of the love interests—they suck. Plain and simple. Neither of them really caught my attention and they both did some weird things to the main character that if I were in her shoes I would have let them both; screw the history between them.
All of their actions just pissed me off! I couldn’t stand how the main character blatantly hurts the other characters over and over and over again. One of my biggest pet peeves is cheating. I CAN’T STAND cheating. Especially when someone shows practically no remorse for doing it!
Cheating is a touchy issue. It's taboo, certainly, but people do make mistakes. The important thing is that mistakes should be a learning experience in order for the main character to be a better person. The main character in this book cheats. She suffers from the consequences, but she never expresses any true regret about the fact that she cheated. For her, the people involved are almost interchangeable. If one isn't available: go after the other one. Rinse, repeat. That is what I cannot forgive.
Yes there were points that I did actually feel bad about what happened to the main character. I mean her mom did pretty much use her for her own personal gain, and one of her best friends literally will not stop making her life a living hell. For this reason I have the book just a smidge higher of a rating, but still I feel like I’m being a bit too generous.
I have found from reading some others reviews and asking my friends questions that many people seem to really love this book or really hate it. I’m definitely leaning towards the hate part. I really don’t want it to be that way, but it is.
Have you read this book? If so, what are your thoughts on it?
