“Reading one book is like eating one potato chip.”— Diane Duane
Rating 9/10"And anyone in our town who treated me civilly risked getting too close to the stench." "His was a chest you could lay your head on." "I didn't want to compete with them for Bridger's attention, because surely I'd lose." "Even though we'd never had the chance to have sex before in real life, in my fantasies she and I were already Division One champs." "By now I must have completely lost my mind. Because talking back was starting to be fun." "I feel like I just violated two and a half pounds of ground meat." | Let me start out by saying I'm really sad Oyster's shutting down. So I'm going on a reading binge to get through all the books on my to-read list. Prepare yourselves. But now for our featured event. I've read many of the books in the Ivy Years series before. I didn't think I would like this one as much as some of the others, but I did! I mean, come on, how can you not love a guy who cares so much for his litter sister like Bridger does? Plus I read Blonde Date before this read, so I already knew I liked Andy from the get go. The way Scarlet stands up for herself at the end is empowering. It's nice to see a female character take control like that. Scarlet and Bridger needed each other. Although they might not have realized it at first, they were the ones holding each other together. I know more than anyone how hard it is to shre your emotions and ask for help. But if I've learned anything from reading these books, it's that a lot more people are willing to come to your aid than you ever realized. Lucy was adorable. I've always been not that into small children. But if I even got to have one like Lucy, I think I'd change my mind. She had to have been one strong little girl to deal with living in her brother's dorm room for so long and to be ripped away from him and put into foster care like she was. I admire it. Then there's how people treated Scarlet back in her hometown. That's just awful. How can you blame a girl for her father's mistakes. I know people were just lumping the whole situation together, but it's still so wrong. And the things they did to her! I don't blame her for changing her name and wanting to get away. While I was reading, I was afraid Bridger would be mad for lying. So I was pleasantly surprised when he acted so cool about it. But can I talk about Azzan for a second. What a creep! I think I hated him more than all the other bad characters in the book put together! I mean, honestly. He bugs her phone, slaps her, threatens her and Bridger and calls her a bitch. I actually couldn't believe how forceful he was being that I almost assumed he was in on her father's little felony. But everything turned out fine in the end — just the way I like it. Scarlet and Bridger could finally be together. She reconnected with Brian and found out she was more connected to him than she ever thought possible. And she looks to finally be letting hockey back into her life and getting actual true friends she can have for the rest of her life. |