I have yet to come across a novel by Sarah Mlynowski that I
haven’t enjoyed by Ten Things We Did (andProbably Shouldn't Have) just might be my favorite. Granted, a certain amount of disbelief is
needed for this novel. You have to be
willing to believe that a seventeen-year-old girl would be allowed to stay
behind when her father and stepmother move to Cleveland (after her mother got
remarried and moved to Paris). Of course,
the parents don’t know that said friend’s mother stars in a play in another
town and the two girls are living completely on their own. You also have to believe that said father
would deposit $1000 per month into his daughter’s bank account each month to
cover “expenses” and doesn't realize that she is spending her income on things
such as a hot tub. Once you can believe
these things, this is an awesome book!
This book has many laugh out loud moments. As April learns to live on her own she makes
discoveries such as what kinds of soap can go in the dishwasher (as you can
imagine, she learns this the hard way) and which people in her life truly care
about her and which ones don’t. As I was
reading, I felt that April was a very real character. As the story progresses she takes the sort of
risks that is to be expected when a girl her age is left completely
unsupervised, but she learns so much from the decisions and by the end of the
novel has completed one of the best character arcs I have seen in this
genre. There is one discover that April
makes that I had to applaud Mlynowski for writing (trying not to spoil
something incredibly plot important here).
I have run tons of YA lit, but I cannot really recall a writer that has
put a main character in that situation.
I was blown away but so pleased that Mlynowski wrote that into her novel
(Confused? Again, don’t want to spoil
anything, but if you email me, I’ll let you know which bit I am talking
about).
I really loved this book.
I am sad that it took me so long to get around to reading it. After all, I love the Magic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call and Monkey Business. If you like girly books, this one is an
absolute must!
Happy Reading!
-Melly
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