Friday, July 19, 2013

Rock And A Hard Place by Angie Stanton ~ Review

Source:  Received eARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Book Description:

Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Susane Colasanti, Angie Stanton's swoon-worthy romance--about an ordinary girl and a young rock star--will keep readers on the edge of their seats . . . and leave them wanting more.

In an instant, Libby's life went from picture-perfect to a nightmare. After surviving a terrible car accident, Libby is abandoned by her father and left with her controlling aunt. A new town, a new school, no friends--Libby is utterly alone. But then she meets Peter.

The lead singer in a rock band with his brothers, Peter hates that his parents overly manage his life. Constantly surrounded by family, Peter just wants to get away. And when he meets Libby, he's finally found the one person who just wants to be with him, not the rock star.

But while Peter battles his family's growing interference in both his music and personal life, Libby struggles with her aunt, who turns nastier each day. And even though Libby and Peter desperately want to be together, their drastically different lives threaten to keep them apart forever.



 This edition of the book comes out September 24th from HarperTeen.

My Thoughts:




2 stars - There was just too much I couldn't accept for me to like this one


This is one of those books that you want to like.  At least I did.  Girl is in a sucky place meets rocker and love follows.  They get over a few obstacles and then everything is good.  It could happen.  I could love it.  But that's not what happened.

Obviously, I loved the premise.  That's why I accepted the book to review.  I loved Peter even though he fell for Libby REALLY fast - yeah it was instat-a-love for sure.  But he was kind and understanding.  I loved the way he talked about music.  He called it "how feelings sound", which I really liked.  He wanted to help Libby.  When his family got in the way, I loved his fierce determination.  That boy was gonna get his girl back.  Loved that about him.

It is a sweet, emotional story about a girl who life has thrown everything bad at her.  It's how she figures out how to stand up and save herself.  That's really a great story for teens to reads.  The relationship, though instat-love is adorable.  I love the private concert he gives her.  I love that he wanted to take her to homecoming.   It's all very sweet.  

Okay, now the things that bugged me.  Yeah, the instat-a-love.  It happened too fast with very few minutes to their relationship.  The phone calls helped move their relationship along.  I may have been able to accept that if it was the only thing.  After all, Peter is on tour and not around a lot.  But it wasn't just that.  Without giving things away, I'll say that the plot seems very contrived.  Everything that could go bad did.  There is this 24-hour period where I'm like, really?  It could also be my experience as a teacher.  I've seen things like this and how the system operates.  I just couldn't buy most of that 24-hours.  Teachers/counselors are mandated reporters, just like doctors are.  When something comes to our attention, we are obligated to report immediately, not wait till after a holiday.  Not allow students to go back into a situation where they aren't safe.  I couldn't get past that if I tried and it really ruined the rest of the story for me.

Libby is shy and reserved except with Peter.  I never saw how he opened her up.  I never experienced enough of their conversations to get their relationships.  A lot of times, the story talks about them talking all night or for hours at a time, but we don't share that time with them.  I feel cheated somehow.

There is one more thing that really threw me.  It the ending, or right before the ending.  Libby makes a decision that just makes no sense to me.  I know the author is trying to show that Libby is ready to stand up and save herself and I like that.  But really, she had already done that and this choice was detrimental to her and Peter.  It really made me not like her. 

This is definitely a YA book that I think is best read by YA's.  If you like the sweet ones where you may have to overlook a few things, this one may be for you.

Others feel differently than me.  Check out Lovey Dovey Books 5 star review here.

About the author:

Angie Stanton never planned on writing books, she wanted to be a Rockette. However, growing up in a rural setting with her brothers' 4-H pigs as pets, dance didn't work out. Instead she became an avid daydreamer. After years of perfecting stories in her head she began to write them down and the rest is history.
She loves dipping french fries in chocolate shakes, all natural disaster movies and Broadway Musicals. Angie is a proud double finalist of the 2011 National Readers Choice Awards for Love 'em or Leave 'em, as well as a finalist for the Golden Quill Award.
When not writing, Angie is concocting ways to make more dreams come true, whether it be tickets to a Broadway show or convincing her family they should rent an RV and travel the country.




5 comments:

  1. Well, Valerie, I am a huge fan of Sarah Dessen, and this author has been compared to her, but i don't think anyone will reach Sarah Dessen's level. She is the queen of YA Contemporary
    Your reader,
    Soma
    http://insomnia-of-books.blogspot.com/

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  2. I have this for review also, got it because I liked the premise to. Now I won't push it to the top ever growing list. Thanks for the honest review.

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  3. Bummer. I've had this one for a really long time, but haven't had time for it.

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  4. *sigh* You know, I've been having issues with stories that are too contrived, that have too much going on. I get what your saying about the teachers. I would want that aspect accurate if I were you, too.
    Great review, Pal!

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  5. I appreciate you giving an honest review. Too often I see blogs giving book-after-book 4 and 5 star reviews. I appreciate reading both good and bad reviews and making my own decision. So, thank you for that :)

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