Main Character: Jennifer Clark
Love Interest: Trever Hoffman
Series: None, that I know of
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads
Jen’s life of partying and sneaking out has grown stale. So on a whim, Jen makes a bet to turn Trevor, a goody-two-shoes geek, into a “bad boy.” As she hangs out with Trevor, however, she finds it’s actually kinda fun being a geek. But when Trevor finds out about the bet, Jen must fight for the things she’s discovered matter most: friendship, family, and, above all, love.
I got this book for review on NetGalley but the publisher archived it before I got around to reading it but I bought it and read it and am so freaking glad that I did because I adored it.
This book follows Jennifer Jones as she becomes Jennifer Clark. Jennifer Jones is a bitter young teenaged girl who doesn’t think much about the world around her and the people in her life. She’s been burned far too many times and lived through some things that nobody should ever live through, especially someone as young as her and in an effort to deal with her life, she keeps people at arms lengths and never lets anyone get too close to her because she doesn’t plan on sticking around. She’s really goth and describes herself as “the freak”. She drives people away by being hard to be around and her friends Beth and Ella aren’t really friends. In an effort to entertain herself and her friends, she bets her friends that she could bring the geekiest geek at school to the dark side.
Only thing is, instead of her bringing him to the dark side, he brings her into his world and she finds that she likes it in his world and wants to stay.
This book was a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I mean, I went into this book thinking that I would get something cute and fluffy but what I got was a story about a girl who needed someone to be there for her. She needed some guidance and a family and whether she knew it or not, she was dying for a family of her own and a place to call home. In this book, we get all of that and more.
Jen was one of those kids that you can’t help but adore. She was rough around the edges at the beginning but over the course of the book, you see her come out of her shell and find out who she really is and what she’s capable of. You learn about her as she’s learning about herself and you come to care for her character even when she takes forever to come clean about the bet with Trevor. You cheer her on and you want whats best for her throughout it all because she feels so real. Her problems, her background and her past, they all felt so real.
My favorite part of this book was of course, Trevor. Trevor was the kind of guy that anyone would want to be better for. He was kind and he was sweet and just nerdy enough to freaking love. He was the best part of this book for me. I adored getting to know him because it was so much fun. He made the story a little brighter every time he came onto the scene. The way that he was around everyone, how loyal he was to his friends, his family and then to Jen- it was fabulous. I adored him, his family (even his crackhead Mom) and I loved his brother Todd. I loved the way he showed Jen that he loved her for the person she was and the person he knew her to be. Even when he was being a bonehead and taking too freaking long to forgive Jen, I adored him. I just couldn’t help myself.
Another thing that I loved about this book was how well written it was. It’s not always perfect and sunshiny, when the crap hits the fan, it really hits the fan. When Trevor turns into a bonehead, he really turns into a bonehead and don’t even get me started on how dumb Jen was throughout a whole lot of this book but what I liked is that despite all of that, Cindy C. Bennett kept writing a story that I wanted to continue reading. She kept writing about characters that I wanted to know more. When I finally closed this book, I was a little sad because I had grown quite attached to these characters. From Jen and Trevor to Jane and Brian, the Clarks and even Mary Ellen. This was such a well rounded story that it brought out all of the emotions out in me. I loved being happy, being sad and being all over the place emotionally with this story. It was great. An all around fabulous read that I can’t recommend more.
Kudos to Cindy C. Bennett for writing a story that kept me locked in right from the very beginning. I loved it!
..and that’s your scoop!
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com
