love & leftovers by sarah tredgay

Source: Once Upon a Twilight Book Tours

My Summary:

Marcie's summer vacation in New Hampshire turns into a seven month stay when her dad decides he has a better relationship with Danny than her mom.  Left in Idaho is her emo-rocker boyfriend, her best friend and leftover group of friends.  Living in a summer home with summer clothes with a mom depressed over her marriage is hard for Marcie.  She has no friends at all and no one to talk to.  When she agrees to be friends with JD, she thinks it's just to help her cope.  JD may have different ideas though.  How can she figure out what her heart wants when her parents have made her life fall apart?  How can she stay friends with people thousands of miles away?  How can she survive the hurricane that has become her life?

My Thoughts:




4 stars - a great read

So this book is told from a blue notebook perspective.  You know the type, that ratty spiral that gets dragged around everywhere and has everything in it.  Poems.  Chat room conversation.  Letters you write but never send.  Rants you would like to have or do have and wish you didn't.

I've only read a few books like this and they've never been a favorite but I really enjoyed this book.  I didn't miss the lengthy descriptions and wondering if that was really enough time for something to happen.  I just got the recap, the twitter version if you will in poetry form.

Marcie is struggling to deal with her dad getting a boyfriend.  She is struggling to understand why her boyfriend hasn't put the moves on her - is he really gay too?  She is struggling to be so far away from her friends watching her mom fall into deep depression.  She is struggling to be the parent when she wants to be the teen.  She is struggling to understand what it means to be in love or if love is even a good idea.  She deals with loneliness, rejections, anger, pain and so much more.  In other words, she's a teenager trying to grow up.  This author does a great job of capturing the struggles that can be so debilitating for a teenager.  I found myself routing for Marcie to be happy, to figure things out.  I was surprised how attached I became to her.  This is a great read and it's a fast one too.  I read it in about a day.

If contemporary YA is your thing, then this is a great choice.

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