I'm officially a NA convert. I bought this because the reviews were SO good. Even from the most jaded reviewers...so, I thought why not.
Let me preface by saying I typically don't like NA. I find the characters to be a immature, shallow and I can't deal with their "dickwad" and "fuckwad" way of speaking.
So, even though I bought it, I was reluctant to read it. And the first 10% I was thinking I just might be right. But, even though I was feeling this way, I couldn't stop reading. And boy, am I so so glad I didn't. It was excellent! These young people had depth of character. They communicated, they didn't play games and they were both good people. I recommend this to anyone who thinks NA/YA is not for them. THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND.
Seriously, and if it doesn't...then maybe you should check your "I love romantic stories" gene to make sure it's functioning properly.
Garrett and Hannah are are complete opposites. She is an extremely talented singer, who majors in music and he is the big man on campus captain of the hockey team. They are both juniors at Briar a college in Massachussetts (where i also happened to go to college, GO JUMBOS!). They are in the same class. Hannah is acing it. Garrett is failing it. He needs her help and after some hilarious and admirably dogged persuasion, Hannah agrees to tutor him.
What follows is a tale of learning that you can't judge books by their cover (Hannah's lesson) and that you can allowed to be vulnerable and care about something other than a sport that can't love you back (Garrett's lesson).
Their story is so well written and witty. The emotions are pitch perfect and even though they are both 20 years old, they conduct themselves in such a forthright manner that you forget that they are supposed to college co-eds. Some of the 30 somethings I read in other stories could learn something from these two!
And, can we talk about Garret Graham? We should clone him. What a guy!
When he could have really lost his cool and done some things in the name of revenge, he let his brain take the lead in his decision making and was a total hero at the end of the book.
There are some sensitive matters addressed in this book and they are all handled respectfully and in a way that made me respect this author tremendously.
I was going to wait until tomorrow to write this review so that I could include all of the quotes I highlighted, but I couldn't wait. I am already almost 12 months late to this party and I just had to say how happy I read this. I will never discriminate against another NA book again. I might not get so lucky next time. But given how well stepping outside of my comfort zone worked for me this time, I will not turn my nose up anything in this genre again. This was a gem of find and I've already started on The Mistake and pre-ordered The Score!
Can't wait!
