ARC, 448 pages
Release Date: May 6, 2014Published by: Simon & SchusterStand-aloneSource: Around the World ARC ToursFor fans of: Chick-lit, Contemporary, Romance, Womance, Realistic Fiction,YAThe Pre-Sloane Emily didn’t go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn’t do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait… what?Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?
Go Skinny Dipping? Um…
*MY THOUGHTS*
“We walked in silence, until […] started to pick up the pace, moving into a jog. I started jogging along with him, keeping up even as we went faster, as he pushed our pace to the edge of where we’d gone, understanding that sometimes, you just needed to run.“
(ARC)
I feel that the easiest way to review contemporaries is starting with the characters and then going on the romance. So, lets start with Emily. Emily at the beginning seems like a very shy, normal, teenage girl. But as the book goes on and we see the flashbacks on Sloane, we see that Sloane is the exact opposite and forces Emily to be courageous and do some things that are definitely out of character for her. All because she was worried if she didn’t do them Sloane wouldn’t like her any longer. To me, she seemed really impressionable. At first it bothered me a little, but she grew tremendously during the novel and I could see why Matson chose to do it that way. As for Frank, I really liked his character. He felt like a real teen boy with real fears and real life stressful situations. He was everything a teen boy really is. He really helped Emily turn her life around and managed to help her just have fun. And last but not least, there’s Sloane. While she was there she seemed like a great friend. But just leaving like she did and not mentioning anything was a little hurtful. She didn’t give either one of them a chance to stay friends. She just gave it all up. I could see why Emily was a little hurt. It felt like to Sloane their two years as besties meant nothing.But even still, Sloane was a whimsical and carefree girl with some deep guarded secrets.
“Not that I wanted to make a regular practice of […], but for just a moment, it had made me feel brave. And as I tilted my head to look at the stars, I began to understand, for the first time just why Sloane sent me the list.“
(ARC)
“I had done it. I had […] and been mistaken for a skank and almost gotten into a fight. It all felt strangely triumphant, and the only thing I wanted to do was tell someone about it.“
(ARC)
“I just thought,’ I said, wishing I wasn’t so worried about his reaction, ‘that in a well ordered universe, you would already have this. So….“
(ARC)
Well, Nikki, surprise! This is the first time i hear of the author
But I LOVE realistic fiction always have. THis reminds me of Goodbye, Rebel Blue which I LOVED.
AM adding this to my TBR
Your reader,
Soma
insomnia-of-books.blogspot.com/