Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen
Author: Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Publisher: Graphia
Release Date: June, 2007

Series: Book 1 of 2 to date

D.J. Schwenk is only 15 years old, but she has the work load of three adults. When her father injures his hip, the work of running a small, family dairy farm falls on D.J. Her older brothers, Win and Bill, have left home to play football in college, and even if they could come back, a falling out with their father makes that impossible. So D.J. must sacrifice the things she enjoys in order to spend her days doing the endless chores necessary to keep the farm operating. She quits the sports teams where she is the star player, and she even flunks her English class when her work keeps her from completing assignments.

Non-communicative and un-complaining, D.J. does what's asked of her without a word of refusal. When the quarterback from rival high school Hawley's football team shows up on the farm with instructions to offer a helping hand in exchange for training by D.J., she wants to refuse. But she agrees, and in between milking and haying and maintaining the farm, she spends her time with Brian Nelson coaching him to be a better player. Over the course of the summer, she realizes that the skills she has that allow her to be a trainer to Brian - hours of playing football with her older brothers - would also allow her to play on her own school's football team. The idea of for once doing something she wants to do and chooses to do for herself rather than all of the things people expect her to do is very appealing.

However, she's sure no one in her life would share this enthusiasm. Not her father, who's inability to show any appreciation for the work that D.J. does or the sacrifices she's made don't indicate a willingness to embrace such an unconventional concept as a girl playing on the football team. Certainly not Brian, who would become her competition and might view their time spent together as her way of spying on him rather than an attempt to make him a better player. Maybe not even the school's coach, who admits that he has no idea if a girl can play on the team, and even if so, not one who has flunked her English class.

Meanwhile, D.J. struggles to understand why the relationship with her long-time best friend, Amber, has grown so tense of late. She despairs at the feelings she's developing for Brian, a guy she's certain would never be interested in a stupid farm girl like herself. And she silently rages against her tight-lipped family that never talks about problems but rather shuts each other out so that they resemble a group of strangers living in the same house.

D.J. is a fascinating character. She's so unlike the normal girly-girl protagonists you find in so many young adult novels aimed at girls. Despite her advanced maturity and the adult-like burdens she carries, she's amazingly lacking in confidence. She truly views herself as nothing more than a hick farmer who will never fit in, so stupid she can't pass English despite knowing that it was not her lack of smarts but her lack of time for schoolwork that caused the problem. The idea of someone like Brian ever finding her in any way interesting is completely foreign to D.J., and when he does show interest, she sees it as fleeting at best.
Too, D.J. is unusual in that she does not speak often. While as readers we are fully aware of what she is thinking and feeling at a given moment, Murdock makes it clear that D.J. is unable to articulate these thoughts and feelings. While we want D.J. to scream and shout against the unfairness of her situation, D.J. herself never views things this way. Nor would it occur to her to say anything about it even if she did. She accepts her burdens stoically. Too, her inability to communicate causes rifts with Brian that are very realistic.

While I appreciated the fact that D.J. was not a whiner, I did grow increasingly frustrated with what I viewed was a certain level of child abuse that I thought her parents were engaging in. The idea that parents would allow working on a farm to interfere with their child's grades - to the point that D.J. flunks English despite many written warnings to her parents - is despicable at the best. They take advantage of D.J. to the degree that I would think a call to Child Welfare wouldn't be out of line. The amount of physical labor alone is horrific.

Too, I found it highly reprehensible that D.J. was expected to give up the things she loved to do - play on the basketball team, run track - in order to run the farm virtually alone. That her parents would not consider other options is unbelievable. Granted, I'm sure in such a situation options are very limited, but it was hard for me to read about D.J.'s experience without fuming at the unfairness of it all.

Murdock does an amazing job conveying D.J.'s feelings in such a way as you can believe D.J. is really describing them. She maintains D.J.'s voice throughout, and I wanted very much to know how things would work out for this girl. At times I wanted her to tell everyone around her that they are all jerks - especially D.J.'s father whom I found very hard to like or sympathize with - and at one point, D.J. does allow all of that low-simmering rage to come to the surface in her own way.

As a character, Brian Nelson is very three-dimensional. He's got both faults and virtues that make him real - he's a spoiled boy quarterback who's aware of it and doesn't necessarily like the fact. His feelings for D.J. remain undefined and uncertain, which is in line for what D.J. perceives to be the case. We're never quite sure how he feels about her, because neither is she.

All in all, I really loved this book. I expected something much lighter and more humorous when in truth, this book is rather dark in the way it portrays life on a family farm. There are no easy answers, and people are portrayed complete with some very serious flaws. Even so, I loved D.J. as a character and am anxious to read the next installment in the series.

Rating: Couldn't Put It Down
Status of Series: Outstanding first installment

Plan B

Plan B
Author: Jenny O'Connell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/MTV
Release Date: March, 2006

Vanessa Carlisle is a planner, and the next year of her life has been plotted to the last second. Finish senior year at private high school Cabot Academy. Get acceptance into Yale. Spend the summer traveling around Europe with her best friend, Taylor. Then head to Yale, where she'll join her boyfriend, Patrick, who already attends as a freshman. She's dotted every i and crossed every T.

What Vanessa doesn't plan for, however, is learning that she has a half-brother who not only is coming to live with them and attend Cabot High, but just so happens to be a bad-boy TV star. Reed Vaughn has gotten into trouble one time too many, and his mother sends him to Chicago to gain some new perspective. Which means Vanessa must go from only child to sharing the spotlight with a Hollywood star.

From the outset, Vanessa resents Reed. She doesn't want him to come, she knows she isn't going to like him, and she determines she's not going to let his presence change one thing about her life. However, she soon finds that her carefully laid plans start to unravel.

The premise of this book - finding out you have a brother who happens to be a famous TV star - really drew me in. I couldn't wait to see how Vanessa handled the sudden fame, dealing with starstruck friends, and maybe even learning that Reed was just a normal teenage guy deep down.
However, Reed remained pretty much a background character throughout the entire story. We never get to know much about him or how he feels about moving to Chicago or what he thinks about being a star. In fact, Reed comes across as a pretty decent guy, and I felt rather sorry for him when nearly every guy at Cabot treats him like a threat and the only friend he seems to make is the one girl at school who doesn't own a television.

Too, Vanessa's immediate and inexplicable hatred toward Reed is never fully explained or justified. From the minute she learns about Reed, she determines that he will be nothing but a problem for her. She treats him rudely at best and is outright disloyal and cruel at other times. However, I never found Reed's behaviour towards Vanessa to be anything deserving of such hostility. In truth, she often comes across as a spoiled brat, far more of a diva than Reed. I can't say that I ever liked Vanessa or felt sorry for her situation because I never fully understood her problems to begin with.

A big part of the story focused on Vanessa's attempts to continue her relationship with boyfriend Patrick, who was attending Yale as a freshman. Unfortunately, every twist and turn this storyline followed was completely predictable.

Vanessa's journey throughout the story involves her ability to accept that sometimes things don't always go according to plan, and sometimes that opens doors for things to be better. While learning to live with an unexpected sibling requires Vanessa to adapt, I'm not sure that Reed was the catalyst to her changes. Over the course of the story, she experiences troubles with Patrick that had nothing to do with Reed. Ultimately, Vanessa fights against accepting Reed as a part of her life, and I would argue that she only barely concedes to this situation. She doesn't change because she's learned anything from Reed. She changes because she realizes she has no other choice. Ultimately, her Grand Plan is only affected slightly.

One question I had after reading the story was why O'Connell chose to make Reed a famous TV star rather than just a normal guy who comes to live with Vanessa and her parents. Reed's fame added nothing to the story. Granted, he was immediately accepted at Cabot High because of his status. But because this aspect of Reed was never fully explored - the situation never examined from his point of view - and it never truly affected Vanessa in any direct way, I still don't know why O'Connell chose this particular direction. It left me feeling as if a great opportunity was missed.

This is the second book written by O'Connell that involved Chicago as a setting, with Boston playing a strong secondary role. (The first was The Book of Luke.) I know from the information given about O'Connell that she currently lives in Boston, thus I can see her focus on that area. While the Chicago portions of the book are written as if O'Connell has done thorough research, I do wonder if she's ever actually lived here. Something about her sense of setting is a bit forced, as if she's relying on guidebooks rather than her own experience. I could be wrong about this.

O'Connell's saving grace is her ability to tell a story cleanly. Her voice is easy to read, and while her characters frustrated me, they were well written. The dialogue is natural and the narrative well paced. I only wish she'd do better in executing these wonderful premises that are promised on the back cover copy. With her books, I always feel like I've ordered a hot fudge sundae only to get served a fruit yogurt cup instead.

Rating: Held My Attention
Status of Series: This is a stand-alone title

The Book of Luke

The Book of Luke
Author: Jenny O'Connell
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/MTV
Release Date: April, 2007

"Nice Girl" Emily Abbott has really gotten handed a raw deal. Half-way through her senior year in high school, her parents decide to move the family from Chicago back to Boston. She's just received a letter from her first choice college, Brown, telling her she's been deferred. And on the morning that the family is scheduled to leave, her first real boyfriend, Sean, breaks up with her. Too add insult to injury, her father announces at the airport that, in fact, he's not moving with the rest of the family but rather staying behind in Chicago, to tie up some loose ends. Code for separation.

But when Emily arrives back at her old school, she finds that not much has changed. Her old best friends, Lucy and Josie, are there to welcome her back into the fold. And come to find out, they've been experiencing their fair share of boy troubles as well. In fact, Josie was just dumped - via e-mail - by hottest guy on campus, Luke Preston.

Fueled by their frustrations, the girls decide to write a guide-book for guys, a how-to-manual describing all the things boys do that drive girls crazy and how they can change for the better. Once this manual is done, the girls plan to put it in the senior class's time capsule so future generations can benefit from their knowledge.

But for some reason, Emily, Josie and Lucy determine that they need to test out their theories on a real live boy. And who better but the jerk Luke Preston? Emily is drafted into becoming Henry Higgins to Luke's Eliza Doolittle. Ostensibly, she will get Luke to fall in love with her, work her magic in changing him into the greatest boyfriend ever, then break up with him in order to add the humiliation cherry to the top of the cake.

As you can predict, this Grand Plan falls apart when Emily finds out that maybe Luke isn't so bad after all. In fact, he's actually kind of wonderful, and before she knows what's happening, Emily feels stuck between what she wants for herself and what she thinks she's supposed to be doing for the sake of her friends and for all girl-kind.
As a heroine, Emily had a great voice. She's easy to relate too, and despite all of the crap she's handed, she doesn't whine excessively. She constantly describes herself as a "nice girl", although other than spewing bits from her mother's etiquette books (her mother is a professional etiquette expert), I didn't find her any nicer or meaner than any other character.

My problem with this book is that the premise of the guide book is very flimsy. As it was described, this how-to manual the girls are writing is a list of observations of the things that boys do that drive girls crazy and suggestions to the boys on what not to do. When the threesome determine that the book needs to be "tested", I was thoroughly confused. The guide-book is not a how-to manual for girls, on things they can do to change the boys in their lives. So how was Emily supposed to "test" it on Luke?

Indeed, I never did see Emily testing Luke in any way. In fact, several times he did things she didn't like (standing her up for a dance, not calling her when he said he would), and she ignored her initial urges to call him out for acting like a jerk. Other than a handful of suggestions - like telling him to keep an umbrella in his car for rainy days and not sharing her french fries when he acted as if it were only natural that she would - it seemed Emily did most of the changing when she accepted Luke exactly as he was. In fact, the real test Emily seemed to engage in was to see if she could act in such a way as to get Luke to fall in love with her.

Too, the conflict in the book is based on a very weak base. Emily supposedly feels conflicted because 1) she's falling for Luke when she's supposed to be re-training him and 2) Luke used to date Josie and hurt Josie's feelings. If the focus of Emily's distress would have been on the fact that she'd developed real feelings for her best friend's ex-boyfriend, I would have been satisfied. As it stood, I never understood why, once she realized Luke was actually a pretty nice guy that she genuinely liked, Emily never put the brakes on and told her friends that it wasn't working.

So as the story continued, Emily's increasing conflict became more and more frustrating.

Additionally, in the end, Emily is left holding 100% of the blame when things spiral out of control. Despite the fact that the idea for the guidebook as well as the desire for Emily to be the one to test it out on Luke belonged to all three girls equally, everyone turns to Emily when it comes time to pass out blame and anger.

While this book kept me turning the pages, wondering how it would all work out, I did so with a lot of frustrations. Only Emily as a character kept me from not finishing it. I like her well enough even though I thought much of what she did towards the end of the book veered awfully close to Too Stupid Too Live behaviour. Add in a healthy dose of Big Mis that drives the conflict and I can't say that this was my favorite book ever.

Rating: Struggled to Finish
Status of Series: This is a stand-alone title

Adiós to My Old Life

Adiós to My Old Life
Author: Caridad Ferrer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: July, 2006

Alegría Montero is a seventeen year old Latin-American girl, the daughter of a widowed music professor who finds herself the next potential super pop star, courtesy of a reality show competition to discover the hottest Latin music talent. Oye Mi Canto is the name of the show, and when Ali auditions, she never really expects to get through to the actual contest. But Ali's talent is unmistakable, and before she knows what's happening, she's caught up in the world of makeup artists, stylists, choreographers, fame, fansites, and career-destroying jealousy. Amidst the whirlwind of sudden fame, Ali meets Jaime, a production assistant intern who is interested in more than just her musical talents.

Adiós to My Old Life is a Young Adult title, told from Ali's perspective. It is well written, and the behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it might be like to be a contestant on an American Idol-like TV show is very compelling. Ferrer was extremely wise to use an ethnic culture to draw a parallel to the hugely successful talent show. While it would have been hard for me to buy into Ali's journey had Ferrer placed the story in the real AI world, I certainly could believe Ali's involvement on a smaller-scaled Latin version of such a show.
Ali was a very likable protagonist. She was savvy enough not to be a Pollyanna, yet she retained enough niaveté that I really felt sorry for her as the consequences of being on the show began to become problematic. When Ali becomes victim to the show's other female contender, Fabiana, a fame-whore type who will stop at nothing to win the game, I felt so sorry for her. Yet Ali was quite capable of standing up for herself.

If I have any complaints about Ali it is that she is perhaps a bit too perfect as a character. Through the course of the story, Ali turns out to be the most talented singer, the most talented musician, the most adored by her fans, the most professional performer, the most self-confident (despite being the youngest contestant), the best friend to other contestants, etc. She handles all of the obstacles thrown at her with a maturity that most adults would envy. Even at the end, when a terrible revelation is made, Ali's reaction is much less extreme than I would have expected. I wish that Ali had shown a bit more self-doubt about her abilities. Then again, as she is presented, she had no reason to doubt herself because Ali was the most talented.

Too, Ali tended to lapse into teen-speak clichés that got tiresome after awhile. For example, she referred to songs as "charts" and the large mansion where the contestants lived as a "barn". Her guitar was her "ax". Rather than giving Ali a distinct voice, I just found use of such slang in such a repetitive way to be an affectation.

What did work was the way that Ferrer sprinkled Spanish words into the dialog and narrative. I speak no Spanish yet was able to glean the meaning of the words via the context, and the use of Spanish kept me firmly rooted in the culture of the story. Never for one minute did Ali sacrifice who she was.

I was a bit disappointed at the predictable send-up of the show's fashion coordinator being a gay man. Too, a subplot involving Ali's chaperone Elaine, a long time family friend who harbored hidden feelings for Ali's father, left me kind of cold. The end to this subplot was a foregone conclusion so the whole thing seemed a little pointless.

What wasn't as predictable was how the competition played out. Needless to say, Ferrer didn't let Ali come to a happy ending by the normal route, although I did find things wrapped up a little too neatly as far as Ali's future relationship with Jaime went.

I did enjoy this book. I would recommend it for older teens rather than younger ones as Ali and Jaime do become somewhat physically involved. But anyone who has ever dreamed of becoming a reality TV superstar would appreciate Ali's story.

Rating: Held My Attention
Status of Series: This is a stand-alone title.

Dark of Night

Dark of Night
Author: Suzanne Brockmann
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Release Date: January, 2009

Series: Troubleshooters
Position in Series: 14 out of 14
Main Characters: Lawrence Decker, Tracy Shapiro, Sophia Ghaffari, Dave Malkoff, James Nash, Tess Bailey
Returning Characters: Jules Cassidy, Robyn Chadwick, Sam and Alyssa Starrett, Ken Karmody
Sequel Bait: Jay Lopez
Bad Guys: a shadowy government black ops group gone bad

This book was quite possibly the most polarizing series entry that I've ever encountered as far as its reception by the fans. There was no middle ground on this one - you loved it or you hated it. But more on that in a minute.

A handful of years ago, Lawrence Decker met Sophia Ghaffari under some horrific circumstances. They had a sexual encounter that left both of them emotionally scarred, and Decker has never forgiven himself for what he did. Sophia, however, has harbored feelings for Decker that she finally realizes he will never be able to return. Ready to move on with her life, she turns her attentions towards her best friend, Dave Malkoff, a man who has been quietly waiting in the wings and will take Sophia in any way he can, even if he feels as if he's her second choice.

Meanwhile, Decker has thrown himself into his latest mission, trying to discover who it is exactly who has been trying to kill fellow Troubleshooters operative James Nash. Decker's investigation throws him together with the group's receptionist, Tracy Shapiro, and no one is more surprised than Decker when sparks start to fly between himself and the fiesty girl.

As his friends work desperately to keep him safe, James Nash grinds his teeth with frustration. Recovering from a near fatal gunshot wound, he's forced to remain behind at the safe house while his fiance, Tess, puts herself in danger in order to clear his name once and for all. Too, he's beginning to realize that if he ever hopes to have a future with Tess, he's going to have to reveal his darkest secrets to her, admit his worst sins, and hope that she'll accept him as he is.

The action in Dark of Night is certainly fast-paced. The story takes place over the span of only a few days, and the characters are always on the move. While this action keeps the story moving, it did create a little bit of confusion for the reader. Several times I had to rethink who was doing what where and why. And because more of the characters found themselves in mortal danger as the story progressed, you began to wonder how the problems would ever be solved to satisfaction.
I mentioned above the kerfuffle this book caused with fans when it came out. Thing is, over the past few books in the series, Brockmann has been dropping hints and clues that the predestined couple would be Decker and Sophia. It is no spoiler to reveal that in this installment, Decker finds romance with Tracy Shapiro and Sophia is perfectly happy to spend the rest of her life with Dave. Many long time fans of this series felt betrayed by this turn of events - so betrayed they are planning to boycott any further books in the series.

I did not harbor any major disappointment with the pairings that resulted in this book. My only issues came from other problems I had with the Tracy/Decker romance.

First of all, Tracy and Decker move from some previous minor flirting in one other book to a full-on love for all time romance in the course of only a few days. I always have a problem with books that throw a man and a woman together and have them fall deeply in love in such a short time. I can buy lust and infatuation and even the sparks of something they both know is going to develop into something big and great and longlasting. But this courtship-on-speed makes me doubtful for the couple's longevity.

Too, for many books we have been shown that Decker's sexual encounter with Sophie has left him wracked with guilt. He believes he took advantage of a desperate woman, and his self-loathing is so great he can't manage to overcome the guilt to see that he made a human mistake. This is why he can't allow himself to reciprocate Sophia's love.

But when Decker manages to open up with Tracy and reveal the real truth behind why he has such baggage over that one episode, the reasons completely blindsided me. This is a bit of a spoiler, so you may want to stop reading. Come to find out, Decker actually got a special little thrill out of the danger inherent in his encounter with Sophia. He's horrified that he was sexually aroused by being dominated (and very nearly killed) by Sophia. In short, he feels like a dirty boy for finding pleasure in a non-traditional sexual situation.

I had a bit of a WTF? reaction to this revelation. The whole reason he can't let himself love Sophia is because she turned him on in a way he felt was wrong? I guess I was expecting something much more debilitating than this bit of Freudian upset.

As for the Sophia/Dave pairing, the main conflict rests on Dave's fears - and rightly so - that Sophia has settled for him since Decker won't have her. She struggles to convince him - and herself - that this is not the case, and over the course of the story she does come to realize that the love she feels for him is as real and pure as anything she'd ever felt for Decker.

Dave as a character completely baffles me. Brockmann describes him as schlubby and very un-CIA stereotypical. In my mind I imagine a balding man with a bit of a gut, not very handsome or physically fit. Yet when Dave is put into a life or death situation, he becomes a Power Ranger extraordinaire. This creates a disconnect for me that I can't quite overcome. It's as if Brockmann is unable to let any of her heroes be anything less than super macho warriors. Perhaps Dave's challenge shouldn't have been so much physical as intellectual. Let him be smart and sexy instead of requiring him to be smart and super powered to be sexy.

The other couple featured heavily in this story is James Nash and Tess Bailey. This is another pairing that doesn't quite work for me. In "their" story (that is, the story when Nash and Tess supposedly had their HEA, which turned out to be not so much "ever after"), Nash was portrayed as a black ops assassin-type who barely walked on this side of good. Tess was a sweet, freckle-faced girl next door. I couldn't quite understand the attraction between them. In this story, my reaction to their continuing saga was lukewarm. I didn't really much care. I'm not sure what this means.

I have one other minor complaint. As much as I love Sam Starrett, he's beginning to turn into Dr. Phil. He offers relationship advice to pretty much every guy he encounters, and I'm wondering when he became such an expert. I liked Sam much better when he wasn't so well adjusted.

Despite these problems, I enjoyed this book. It kept me turning the pages pretty steadily. I won't say it was my favorite in the series, but I certainly did not have the negative reaction that so many others did.

Rating: Held My Attention
Status of Series: Has reached a love it/hate it point, where many readers have grown weary of the same characters and situations, while others who love returning to this world are happy to have more. The writing is still top-notch.

The Boys Next Door

The Boys Next Door
Author: Jennifer Echols
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June, 2007

This book is not part of a series.

The story described on the back cover blurb held so much promise. Lori has grown up on the shores of a small lake, next door to three brothers whose family owns the local marina. They spend their summers working at the marina and wakeboarding their way back and forth across the lake. As Lori has grown older, her crush on middle brother Sean has grown proportionately. And through the years, her friendship with youngest brother Adam has become rock solid.

Finally, Lori has reached the critical mass of maturity and bodily development that she thinks she has a chance at making Sean see her as dating potential instead of just a tag along tomboy little sister type. Over the course of the summer's first new weeks, she employs all of the standard femme fatale tricks to gain Sean's attention, most of which involve exposing her newly developed body for all and sundry to admire. Too, she believes for some convoluted reason that pretending to have a thing for Adam will make Sean jealous enough that he'll go for her. All the while, she seems oblivious that the attentions Adam is showing her might mean his feelings run deeper than mere friendship.

At this point I'm sure it doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to figure out that Adam is, in fact, the right boy for her in all ways. Why it takes Lori the course of 300 plus pages is beyond me.
I have to confess right here that I did not finish this book. I gave it the old college try - got through seven whole chapters and skimmed the rest of the book before the poor writing overcame any resolve I had and knocked me out once and for all.

Because the writing is just plain bad. Not only were there numerous type-Os that did not get corrected in the copy editing stage, but sentences were so awkwardly worded they actually reminded me of something a fifteen year old might write.

But I should back up. My first problem with this book came in the form of the narrative. The story is told in the first person via protagonist Lori's viewpoint. Her thoughts are so scattered, I felt like I actually was inside the head of a fifteen year old girl. You might think this is a good thing, that the author really captured the narrator's voice. Not so much. It was simply hard to read.

Unfortunately, this scattershot approach extended to the dialog as well. The conversations took such sharp turns away from the original topic that I wondered if some of the text hadn't been dropped during the printing process. It felt much like the writer had an agenda to accomplish during each instance of character interaction, a number of plot points she had to establish, and whether or not they fit into that particular conversation didn't matter.

Too, I had to wonder about the intelligence of Lori as she's portrayed. At one point, Lori, who has lived next door to the Vader brothers her entire life and has supposedly spent a lot of time at their home, shows up to attend a party at the Vader house. She rings the doorbell, and when no one answers the door, she looks for security cameras. Wouldn't she know if the Vaders used a high tech security system? In fact, if she's so comfortable with this family and she knows they are having a huge party, wouldn't she just knock and walk on in and join the festivities?

Lori also had a habit of mistaking the two male leads of the story - brothers Sean and Adam. More than once Lori thought she was dealing with Sean only to realize it was Adam whom she was caressing or admiring. Even if these two boys looked so similar, I still find it hard to believe that a girl who has known these guys since early childhood wouldn't be able to tell them apart fairly easily.

Another issue I had was the animosity between brothers Sean and Adam. Now, I know brothers fight with each other. But these two boys really seem to hate each other. They verbally slam each other and physically pound out their frustrations on each other's faces. Again, this isn't necessarily a problem, per se, if the tone of this book wasn't that of a light-hearted romantic comedy. We are supposed to find this amusing. If that's the case, then I would have expected at the very least an undercurrent implying that the brothers really do care for each other and that most of their animosity is of the teasing variety. The portrayal didn't fit the tone of the story, much like finding a sardine in the middle of your hot fudge sundae.

Perhaps I'm the wrong audience for this book, given that I'm far from my teen years. However, I would argue that this is not the reason for my dislike of this book. The story itself is passable - what a fabulous premise. Who wouldn't love living next door to two gorgeous hotties and appreciate the fantasy of them falling in love with her? I'm there. But the writing was so awful I couldn't ignore it to focus on anything else. Since I know that there are many, many YA romances out there that do not have this problem, I can't simply chalk it up to an issue I have with the genre.

I wanted to like this book. Heck, I bought it.

Rating: Didn't Finish