Sunday, July 19, 2015

Wrong About the Guy - Claire LaZebnik

You guys remember what I said about Last Best Kiss, right? In the words of Elle Woods, THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT (though, in her case she was talking about four hours of sexytimes in a hot tub...).

I really liked The Last Best Kiss, but this I LOVED. Ellie is my kind of MC. She's selfish and spoiled and overbearing and a bit of a dictator, but she does it right. She's charming and, more, she undoubtedly has a good heart. She's open to change and willing to admit when she makes a mistake and goes about fixing it. She handles constructive criticism like a boss.

Also, other pros:
-George is very Josh a la Clueless, but somehow so much better
-this book reminded me a bit of Clueless, the 90s film if you don't know (a/k/a the 90s version of Mean Girls and literally one of the best movies ever)
-one of my favorite family dynamics ever: cooky, upfront grandma (she gives the sex talks around here), best stepdad ever, loving mom, and adorable half brother - this family TALKS, communicates, goes through hurdles together, has a PRESENCE, but one that fits incredibly well in a YA story all about Ellie trying to get into college, make decisions about boys, struggle with friends
-deals with autism wonderfully
-has a guy-girl best friendship with no REAL threat of romantic entanglement without either one of them being gay (come on, that is a trope we all know)
-boyfriend who's uncomfortable but willing to deal with said guy-girl best friendship
-sex is openly discussed
-teenage feminism is done believably and well from what i know of feminism (Ellie gets the principle and applies it in how people see her/treat her, i.e. her approach when faced with topics of slut shaming and women being "domestic")

Cons:
-Heather and Ellie's friendship at times put me off, I thought that avenue could've been handled a little better, with a little more love, but not totally off putting

Overall, I loved Ellie. She reminds me a little of Celaena Sardothien in a modern-day, our-world setting. A girl who's both good and flawed and eccentric and selfish and charming and i downright adore.

Basically, LaZebnik is now an auto-buy author. I've since purchased Epic Fail during an ebook sale and can't wait to try it out while I'm abroad! ^^


Rating: 4 stars