I have to return this book to the library today, so I'll be quick. It has not stopped me from wanting to read more of her, but nevertheless, I am a little disappointed. This is not as good as The Ex Games, but it followed the same basic format. Erin has red hair, like Hayden did. Erin and Hunter fought back and forth the way Hayden and Nick did. This turned me off because I think Echols does a better job with development of Hayden and Nick's story. This time around it just felt recycled. Ironically, even though these two are in college, they are both virgins and therefore the sex scene was downplayed, which is very different from Forget You. It's pretty neat that the story is about one creative writing class, yet unbelievable that the kids in that class can become so close over the course of one semester. As someone who took several writing classes while at uni, I can assure you no one became that close with their classmates. The style for the workshop is realistic. Writers are supposed to read the set of stories for each class and provide comments while authors sit and listen and don't say a word until the very end. Gabe wasn't a very in-control instructor though. Most all of my writing classes were commanded by confident teachers who had no problem interrupting or telling you what they thought and I appreciated that. I also find it hard to believe that two people would be sending each other hidden messages in stories they write for class. I do believe the guys would gang up against the girls when talking about what is good writing and what is not. This is not her best work, but was still an enjoyable read.

a pure genius work of writing

The Ex Games is a work of genius. No, seriously, it is. I know from the cover you might not think so. I know I didn't when I first picked it up at the library. My thought was confirmed when I read the blurb on the back cover. This was going to be another typical teen rom-com where the two most unlikely people to get together end up falling for each other in the end. Blah, blah, blah. Bleh. That's not to say that that didn't happen. It did. It was how they got there, no, how Miss Echols got them there, that was pure genius.

Hayden is a redhead who comes with all the bells and whistles of being one. She has no problem with exploding in Nick's face whenever he provokes her with a Hoyden name-calling or something else inappropriate like that infamous fire-crotch incident. Nick and Hayden are the exes in question and they were an item in the seventh grade. It is now junior year, but Hayden hasn't let go of that humiliating moment in the movie theater right after Nick kissed her when she found out that he had been dating her only to win a bet that no girl would be interested in him for him and not his money. She's All That anyone? He didn't exactly apologize for it either. So here we are, four years later, still holding a grudge over the most popular, best-looking dude in school (as if we really needed the reminder from a now teenage Hayden about the nice shape of his ass and chest muscles to figure this out).

Since our heroine does not possess the stellar grades needed academically to go to college, her only hope is her one true passion. There's just one problem. She needed to get over her fear of heights so she can land that jump that will make her one step closer to becoming a professional snowboarder. And everyone is so supportive, from stepping in to come up with raps (her little brother who has hopes of going pro himself with the help of big sis no less) to challenging her in a comp for Poser tickets (only the hottest band who will be in town for a concert) in a girls against boys battle of the sexes. Guess who did that? Her ex of course. So now she must prove to her friends and family, but especially Nick, that girls can rock hader than boys. Only thing is, the biggest person she must prove is not even Daisy Delaney, the latest pro female snowboarder who Hayden just won private lessons with in her last comp, but herself.

In the meantime, Nick is being bipolar. One minute he's teasing her, downright insulting, and the next minute he's nice to her, making her heart race in a way you're not supposed to when you're currently hating on your ex. I just admire the creativity Echols put into Josh's raps and how she makes something so dramatic and silly seem so important. She makes you care about what happens to Hayden and whether she will ever resolve her issues with Nick. Will she win the comp for the girls? Will Josh come up with a really good rap? Will Nick build a relationship with his father?

There's a hint of a modern fairy tale as Nick lives in this mansion that is mostly empty and is guarded by fierce large cats that Hayden mistakens for mountain lions. Nick, ever the hero, comes to save her, much like Beauty and the Beast, except he's hardly a beast, save his jerk of a personality. Two clashing, headstrong teenagers in love make for a bumpy ride to true love. Echols has you constantly guessing, will they or won't they? Then you get to the end when Nick is being interviewed for People and texts Hayden if she wants to be a part of it and you can finally, finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Echols is one addictive YA author, as is Sarah Dessen. This one is by far my favorite of hers. She ties up loose ends so well and I love happy endings. I also love the reference to Lindsay Lohan when Hayden is compared to this famous redhead. Well done Jennifer.

it's the crabby coming through

I don't think I'll be able to switch it up. When I start reading one YA author, I have this incessant need to read all the books by that author before switching it up. That's a sign of a successful YA author. So here I am, having finished Jennifer Echols' Going Too Far. I have to say, my experience reading it may have been slightly tainted just because the copy I borrowed from the library smelled like perfume the whole time. I couldn't get it out of my nose the whole time I was reading it which may have affected my opinion of the book, which is a pity because things like that really shouldn't influence you while you read. Oh well.

 

I find it interesting that an eyebrow piercing is supposed to signify "bad girl." The part of her describing the cop she rides with was very confusing for me, though maybe Echols meant it that way. At the beginning I didn't know if he was young or old, or if he had a wife and family already or something like that. Though, to Echols' credit, Meg wasn't sure either. I just can't imagine a 19-year-old young man looking like he's 40. That just doesn't make sense to me. I also didn't find the ending to be satisfying. I couldn't believe Meg had cancer. That wasn't realistic. So Johnafter never goes to college to pick up art instead? He remains a cop forever in this town everyone else is so desperate to escape? This is not one of my favorites of Echols, but she has not lost my attention yet. This past weekend I checked out two more of her books. Have no fear. I will continue to read her.

 

On a totally side note, I never seem to know the right things to say. I know I already said this in my Xanga, but I can't help it. =(



same last names

I picked up my October 2012 issue of Marie Claire today and flipped to a random page and saw this article about a woman falling in love with an inmate named Damien Echols.

Wow! What a small world we live in. I wonder if he's at all related to Jennifer Echols. I'm now reading her Going Too Far book. I am hooked on her for the moment. It's so trashy reading, but I can't help it. YA will do that to you.

Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

I finished this book last weekend. Turns out the second book is a sequel to the first. It was very easy to follow for that reason. However, I did not appreciate the parts when we get inside Adam's head. I liked that the first one was inside Lori's head and stayed that way throughout. This one flipped back and forth, alternating between her thoughts and his. I guess in the end it was helpful to see what he was thinking as well, but it was kind of distracting. I did LOVE how she listens to Kelly Clarkson and all the pop artists like a regular teenybopper like I do. In all my years reading YA I have not come across a charater like that yet, so it was refreshing. Though the guys kept listening to Nickelback and I really wonder how realistic that is. I'm glad that Lori and Adam were able to end up together in the end, but I kind of find it not believable that his parents would just give up on sending him to military school altogether. These two books also lost the feel of some really big plot. It was mostly girl drama of whether the two main leads would get to be together or not, so the overall story was kind of dry. I did appreciate that this one was a lot less sexual than Echols' other books, so it was more age-appropriate. I'm not sure, but it has an older feel to it and I would not be surprised if this was one of her earlier works. I do have to say though, she does have a knack of getting you hooked because no matter how bad the story goes, I can't wait to read another one of her books as soon as I return the current one to the library.

two paragraphs in one

just put down The Boys Next Door, the first book in Endless Summer. thankfully, Lori does not frustrate me as much as Zoey did. so apparently we're doing two YA books in one now? i'm not even sure if the second book has anything to do with the first. i was at Walmart over the weekend doing my weekly grocery shopping and i picked up a YA book and it was also two books in one. made me wonder if they sold the books separately as well.

on Thursday i saw Julie & Julia. suddenly i am inspired to read the book and do a challenge similar to it. must be Eat, Pray, Love peer pressure. i mean, what would i even blog about? YA novels? there's an idea! read a YA novel a week.