Title/Author: Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, August 21st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Goodreads summary: "After the grand explosion of her relationship, seventeen-year-old Max Scott developed what every girl in the history of the world has been waiting for: a way to get over being dumped. Now Max is the go-to guru for heartbroken high-school girls all over NYC. But when her ex unexpectedly shows up in her neighborhood, Max’s carefully controlled world starts to unravel. With her clients’ hearts hanging in the balance, Max will have to do the seemingly impossible: get over him once and for all."
I've heard great things about the Nanny Diaries by the same two authors and was really excited when I saw they'd written a YA novel! So of course I jumped at the chance to read and review this wonderful sounding book!
So I am a bit sad to say that I didn't end up enjoying this book as much as I wanted to. I think part of this was due to the writing style not really working for me. The third person present form for some reason made me feel like there was a big wall between me and the characters and I never fully succeeded in bridging that wall throughout the novel.
I didn't feel like I really got to know Max and that's probably what bothers me most. I felt like I was left hanging, like her friends were and I still don't really know how to describe her. I did like that she genuinely wanted to help other girls. She made some bad choices and was just not doing so well confronting her own problems, but that's what made her a bit more interesting.
I admit that I was kind of wondering what was so special about her that everyone listened to her, getting instructed about what to do to get over heartbreak and guys falling for her. I think this also goes back to the not really feeling like I got to know her thing. It was all slightly hard to believe for me.
Though the writing style was really not for me, the story itself was nice, it didn't blow me away, but it was a light read and had some funny moments.
My rating: 2,5 stars
This had such a promising premise, but now I'm not sure how I feel about reading it. I did like The Nanny Diaries though!
ReplyDeleteToo bad it didn't work out for you, :( I had heard good things about the nanny diaries too so I wanted to try this book but I don't think I would enjoy it - I agree with you on the third person present tense narrative, it can make it hard to get to know the characters.
ReplyDeleteI guess the style works for some stories but not others.