Once Upon A YA Novel

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads Overview: 

Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend. Graduate from high school without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Florida, where she’s lived her entire life. But Matt—the cute, shy, bespectacled bass player who just moved to town—was never part of that plan. And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying “yes” to every crazy, fun thing they could think of. Then Matt abruptly left town, and he broke not only Ella’s heart but those of their best friends, too. So when he shows up a year later with a plan of his own—to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn’t sure whether Matt’s worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future.

My Opinion: Maybe is my cynicism kicking in but i found this read overly dramatic, I understand teenage love is dramatic it self but it felt like the romance should have belong in one of those apocalypse novels because then they would have a reason to be so dramatic, i mean the world is ending and all, but this novel is simply about a girl falling in love and the guy leaving without an explanation (and when you find out why he left its more like really, that’s your reason?!). Another thing i dislike was the fact that there was no family interactions, it barely even mentions the parents and there is a quote from the book that makes me roll my eyes so hard i feel like they would get stuck in the back of my head “as a child you think your parents can solve anything and make the world a better place. But slowly, unexpectedly, that belief transfers over to your second family, your friends. My parents don’t know about any of this, but if i go a day without talking to meg, i feel lost….”.

I’ll admit that it had its cute and fluffy parts, with enough romance that it was acceptable. My favorite character had to be jake, even if he isn’t a main character and maybe a jerk, but i liked him best because he seem more relatable, more real and you get to actually see his flaws. One of the main reasons i like this book was due to the writing style, it was simple yet beautiful. Even if i think the novel was overly sappy, i would read another book by the same author mainly because of their writing.