Published: Simon & Schuster, May 6th, 2014
Pages: 449
Source: Purchased, hardcover
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: 5/5 (96%)
How I Felt: I really enjoyed this book! I read it while I was on vacation, so I only read it chapters at a time and I was so angry about that because I needed to keep reading! The story had such strong underlying tales of the importance of friendship, not something you see a lot of in book because most things are about romance, and I really appreciated that aspect of the story. This book has brought me to better appreciate Morgan Matson's writing style, I love how she intertwines flashbacks or memories into the story to give the reader a better understanding of the characters. I really enjoyed the fact that we got to learn about what happened to her other characters; Amy and Roger through these as well. But this was one of those contemporaries where it ends right after we get a resolution with the two main characters, there were still a bunch of other characters we needed resolution with and I just wanted to see the characters together for at least two or three more chapters. I also love that both of her books that I've read include playlists because if you play the songs while reading the book, it allows you to relate more to the character and feel like you're in the story with them. Emily's relationship with her brother; Beckett was really distant in the beginning, but I really enjoyed watching them form a stronger brother-sister bond throughout the story. My favourite character would have to be Collins (Matt), I thought he was hilarious and such a good friend to Dawn, Frank and Emily. I just wish that we could've seen his and Emily's friendship resolve at the end of the book. I thought Dawn was a great friend for Emily, especially after what happened with Sloane. Again, I wish there was a resolution between her and Emily at the end of the book. Now I think we need to discuss Emily. When we're first introduced to her she's this shy quiet girl that follows Sloane everywhere and does almost anything she tells her to do, and when she doesn't do exactly what she wants she's quick to apologize and appease her. By the end of this book though Emily has changed into a much better, more independent version of herself. When Sloane left her the list to accomplish over the summer, it really pushed Emily's boundaries and got her out of her comfort zone in order to grow as a person. At the beginning of the book I was a little annoyed by Emily because she was so lost on what to do because Sloane was gone, it was like she wasn't able to function without Sloane standing there telling her what to do. Frank, Collins, and Dawn really helped her to become that better, more out-going, independent person that didn't constantly need someone standing over her shoulder. For those reasons this book has one of the best character developments I've read about in a long time. Emily is a great role-model in many ways, she had a goal set in front of her and so she went out and accomplished it; despite the fact that it was sometime uncomfortable. I thought the Living Room Theatre ordeal her parents group of friends took turns hosting was really interesting and such a fun idea! (One that I would probably never participate in). Overall I really enjoyed this book, I found once I got passed 50 or so pages the pace really picked up, and it became a much more enjoyable, fun read and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!
Favourite Quotes:
- “I don’t think you have to do something so big to be brave. And it’s the little things that are harder anyway.”
- “All the stuff you can’t wait to get away from, until it’s not there anymore, and then you miss it like crazy.”
- “Real friends are the ones you can count on no matter what.
The ones who go into the forest to find you and bring you home.
And real friends never have to tell you that they’re your friends.” - “It just gets hard, always being someone's second choice”
- “When you move as much as I have...you know how it ends. You promise to stay in touch with people, but it doesn't work out. It never does. And you forgot about what the friendship used to be like, why you liked that person. And I hated it. And I just didn't want to do it again. Not with you.”
- “I was speaking without thinking about it first, not hesitating, just saying what I felt first.”
- “Do you not like The Beatles?" Frank asked, sounding shocked. "Do you also not like sunshine and laughter and puppies? I don't think the Beatles get enough recognition. I mean, when you look at their body of work and how they changed music forever. I think there should be federal holidays and parades”
*Info on book taken from Goodreads.com*
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