Main Character: Jordan, Courtney
Love Interest: Courtney, Jordan
Series: None
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads
There are two sides to every breakup.
This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They’re even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.
Then Jordan dumps Courtney — for a girl he met on the Internet.
It’s too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney’s heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la — this is Courtney pretending not to care.
But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot.
Turns out, he’s got a secret or two that he’s not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can’t get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.
Ames read and reviewed this book here on this blog (you could read her review here) and it’s been on my TBR list ever since and when she sent it to me (awesome friend that she is), I was excited. Why it took me so long to read it? I’ll never know but I’m glad that I did read it. With summer underway, my mood has switched from the darker side of YA (haha parents beware) and has steady been stuck in YA contemporary romances. I also just finished reading Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt and I wanted to read another book by her so I picked this one up.
The story follows Courtney and Jordan, who were a couple until Jordan dumps Courtney right before they’re too travel to college together (they’re both going to the same school), road trip style. Another road trip story and another road trip story that I enjoyed. What made me enjoy this story was watching Jordan and Courtney together. You can totally tell that something isn’t right with Jordan and the mystery was never quite a mystery to me. I knew immediately what happened and why Jordan dumped Courtney right from the very beginning.
The story is told through both Courtney and Jordan’s POV and it was easy to follow along, which is something I appreciated because with all of the head hopping, it would have been easy to get confused but I wasn’t confused at all. Barnholdt did a great job of jumping right into the thick of things so I didn’t have to wade through all of that beginning of the book stuff that I sometimes can’t stand but there wasn’t any of that with this book.
Most of the book takes place on the road and while this book isn’t as good as Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour (no offense), it was still quite enjoyable. There were things in this book that annoyed me but I didn’t stay annoyed long so it was all good. Mostly, I was annoyed with Courtney and her teenage angst at having to be in the same car with Jordan for three days. I understood why she wasn’t all happy go lucky, even respected it but her whining got to be a bit much in some parts and I wanted to smack her and tell her to shut up quite a few times.
I wish Jordan had just been honest about everything right from the jump. I wish he had trusted Courtney to not be mad at him and I wish he had handled everything differently but alls well that ends well and it was an enjoyable way to spend a few summer weekend hours losing yourself into Jordan and Courtney’s world. This book took me back to high school though with all of the teenage antics that Jordan, Courtney and their best friends get into over the course of the book. It brought a smile to my face at the same time that I was cringing because you just knew the crap was going to hit the fan and it wasn’t going to be pretty. Courtney’s Dad was a douche, one of the biggest douche’s I’ve read about in a while.
Overall, the story was great and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who was in the mood for some light, fluffy reading over the summer vacation (like at the beach or park or something). Barnholdt delivers a smile spreading, charming story about two kids that fall in love and the drama that could only happen in a teenage relationship.
This book deals with an older teenage couple and their problems. May not be suitable for kids under the age of 13...and that’s your scoop!
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com
I have this in my TBR pile…might need to break it out soon (I’m starting to hit a bit of a reading slump).
this was never on my radar! This is the first time I’ve heard about this, and from your review, it sounds amazing!
I have this heading into my mailbox soon! I just read Barnholdt’s Sometimes It Happens and I really liked her writing – I can’t wait to for more!
Great review!
Loved this book! I finished reading Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares but in the effort to make the characters quirky they lost me somewhere.
This was a refresher for me as I was YA obsesses then – even now… 😀 I am DYING to read Amy and Roger’s ED! Have it in my TBR pile (I swear they are reproducing like rabbits!). The only downside of this book was I could guess in a snap what was that was bothering Jordan – since this isn’t a whodunit I can forgive that. 😀
This is one of my favorites from Barnhodlt! It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I pretty much agree with your review. (Though I don’t think I ever got annoyed with Courtney.)
If you’re in the mood for another road trip type of feel, you should check out Don’t Stop Now by Julie Halpern 🙂
@Dev: It was cute and fluffy…perfect for a summer read.
@Kirthi: I wouldn’t say that it was an amazing read but it was perfect for what I was in the mood for and that was light/fluffy, cute contemporary romance. =)
@Stephanie: I like her writing too and how funny that I picked this up because I just finished the same book you did and liked it so much I wanted another. =) Welcome to my blog!
*sigh*
sadly, I loathe this book.
I know those are strong words but really, and I Was so sad because I really wanted to like this book. But I couldn’t get pass the sheer amount of times the word hookup comes up.
It drove me nuts and distracted me from everything else.
I liked the idea of the story but didn’t like the execution.
@Brahmin: I think you’ll really like Amy & Roger’s ED (at least I’m hoping against hope that you do). I loved it and am fond of road trip stories now because of that book. What I liked most about the book is how they included receipts and pages out of Amy’s travel journal in the actual book. I freaking loved it!
@Just Your Typical Book Blog: Hey there, thanks for stopping by and thanks for the rec, I’m adding Julie Halpern to my list of books to buy soon.
@Alex: *gasp* Say it aint so, Alex!!!! LOL, it’s all good. I’m sure there are books that you love that I don’t. I’m okay with that. =)