Okay, so I bought this book on a total whim, and I barely had enough money to buy it. Actually, I didn’t. I owe my mom two bucks. Aka, story of my life. But I really didn’t regret it. Even though, just like always, I finished the book in like, a day and a half, and my mom was kind of irritated with me because I “never take my time to enjoy the book,” and now I don’t have any reading material (okay, that’s a lie*), I don’t regret it. Taking my time and enjoying the book are two things that do not go together. Kind of like having fun and following the rules. Wait, no. But you get what I mean.
*The truth is, I have a few books I haven’t read, but one is kind of weird and one isn’t my type of book even though I thought it was, and the other one… I just don’t want to read right now.
This was a really short one. Fun, light, and easy. I loved it! The main character, Rachel, is visiting her dad for two weeks and she’s really look forward to it. Except then his new girlfriend, Ellie, gets in the way. And she lies about who she is to some cool girls. And everything that seems like it couldn’t possibly go wrong… goes wrong.
I was on my toes the whole time. One thing after another, everything turned out to be a disaster. I spent half the book angry at all of the characters. First I was mad at Rachel’s dad for being so clueless. Then I was mad at Rachel’s dad’s girlfriend, Ellie, for taking over so much. Then I was mad at Rachel for being so bratty. Really, my blood was boiling!
I thought Rachel was absolutely hilarious, but honestly, she was so whiny and annoying, even though I understood where she was coming from. The characters were complex in the fact that they never communicated with each other and so everybody had bottled up feelings which caused a whole lot of trouble, but other than that, they were just… bothersome.
I still loved Rachel, though. Even when her dad was absolutely awful to her, spending all of his time with Ellie, it made her more determined to get Ellie out of the way… “My dad needs me. I can’t leave now,” she’d say, and it sounds sweet! But also selfish at the same time. She called her best friend, Marisol, for advice several times in the book, but all Marisol seemed to do was egg Rachel on. I wish there had been more balance in the book… a friend to tell Rachel she was being bratty, and one to tell her she was right.
Then there were the cool friends Rachel lied to. I really expected more on that. Even the synopsis of the book made it seem like the plot line of the book was more focused on that than it was. And it wasn’t even Rachel’s fault the girls thought she was someone else. And the way it ended… everything still seemed incomplete. I was still a bit annoyed.
On the other hand, when I realized this book was a third book in a series, I wondered if maybe things would make more sense had I read the first two books…! I definitely need to put those on my list… 😉
3 stars!
Have you read any books by Anna Staniszewski, or this book? Have you read the other books in the series?