Rowena’s review of Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer.
Main Character: Apron
Love Interest: ??
Series: None that I know of
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads
Apron Bramhall has come unmoored. It’s 1985 and her mom has passed away, her evil stepmother is pregnant, and her best friend has traded her in for a newer model. Fortunately, she’s about to be saved by Jesus. Not that Jesus—the actor who plays him in Jesus Christ, Superstar. Apron is desperate to avoid the look-alike Mike (no one should look that much like Jesus unless they can perform a miracle or two), but suddenly he’s everywhere. Until one day, she’s stuck in church with him—of all places. And then something happens; Apron’s broken teenage heart blinks on for the first time since she’s been adrift.
Mike and his grumpy boyfriend, Chad, offer her a summer job in their flower store, Apron’s world seems to calm. But when she uncovers Chad’s secret, coming of age becomes almost too much bear. She’s forced to see things the adults around her fail to—like what love really means and who is paying too much for it.
What a surprising book this turned out to be. I was expecting a quirky story about a girl named Apron but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. This story follows Apron as she goes through her life. Her Mom is dead, her Dad married her Mom’s nurse who is a total b word and her best friend has a new best friend who hates Apron’s guts.
This book takes place in the 80’s and I didn’t know that when I first requested this book for review. I’m not much of a fan of books set in the 80’s, well I shouldn’t say that because there’s only one other book that I know of that took place in the 80’s and I liked that book fine. In case you were wondering, that book was Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal. I should say instead that I don’t usually read many books that are set in the 80’s but I should change that because I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
At her father’s wedding to the hag that used to be her Mom’s nurse (she calls her just ‘M’, nothing else.), Apron meets two guys, Mike and Chad. Mike and Chad own a flower shop and boy did I adore the hell out of these two. They were just so freaking awesome and good to Apron that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the both of them. They made me laugh, they made me cry and I just ate up all of the page time that they got. The way that they were there for Apron when Apron had nobody to turn to was just great.
This story is a fast read, it doesn’t take much to jump right in and I appreciated that. Far too often, I have to lug through the beginning hump and I’m always anxious for the book to take off so that I can really dig into the story but with this book, it took off right from the very beginning and I enjoyed the ride.
Apron was a wonderful main character and I loved her to pieces. She was such a klutz but such a lovable one, one that went through so much and learned so much over the course of this book. I adored this book and will definitely be reading more from this author. Kudos to Hummer on a fabulous job, I definitely recommend this book.
..and that’s your scoop!
Buy the book: B&N|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com
Oh, the book sound lovely! I admit I passed on it because I heard the 80’s thing and that put me off a little but I think I’m gonna pt it on the wish list now
Thanks so much for your review, Rowena. And for giving the 80’s a chance. And for loving Mike and Chad! I really appreciate you taking the time to read and review GU.