Review: Great for the 13-15 age reader - A light romance!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 12, 2011
Really cute love story about two kids that grow up next door to each other and realize that there is something more than friendship between them, now that they are older.  Great story for the 13-15 year old girl and similar to the novelette,The Practice Date - (Young Adult Romance)by Victorine E. Lieske.Alyssa needs her best friend Brent to pretend to be her boyfriend after her real boyfriend, Pete cheats on her at a party and humiliates her in front of her "friends".  Alyssa depends on being part of the popular crowd for her identity because she does not feel she is intelligent and has nothing to make her worthy on her own.  Brent is disappointed in Alyssa's need for her peer approval and that she is willing to be something she is not to "fit in".  He goes along with her "pretend boyfriend" scheme because he is her friend, but he is disappointed in her for the way she is behaving.  While they are spending so much time together, their friendship becomes "weird" and Alyssa starts regretting what she has asked Brent to do.  She becomes confused about when he is pretending and whether he might actually feel something for her and her for him.Although this was a fun, light read, the amount of wasted time (months) that these two go through because they won't talk to each other gets a little annoying and you want to just "skip to the end".  This separation or "misunderstanding" does not add to the romance; it just makes you endure Alyssa's stupidity for longer than you really want to.  Perhaps a younger audience would have more patience for this and find it more appealing.Would I/Did I buy it? Yes (1.99)Would I read it again? NoWould I recommend it to friends? Yes, Young YAs