Review: That sense of being lost spoke to me
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 2, 2013
By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked. Magan Vernon was speaking my language. That sense of being lost (when everyone else seems to have it all figured out) spoke to me. Libby is vulnerable and out of options despite the fact that she's young and her future should appear limitless. She's flunked out of college trying to be something she's not, a self-obsessed sorority girl. Her parents send her to her Aunt Dee's house in Louisiana in order to find herself and get her life back on track. This time away allows her to get reacquainted with who she truly is, while boosting her confidence and shifting her priorities.And of course, there's Blaine, the road crew worker with a heart of gold whose love allows the 'real' Libby to shine forth. He has his own demons that he's battling, but together they work through the issues holding them back in order to embrace the future together. Having Libby be the aggressive one in the relationship makes for an interesting dynamic. She pushes him to make their status 'Facebook official,' and Blaine even holds off on getting physical until he feels the moment's right. He's a reformed ladies man, and he's going to take things at his own pace, no matter how frustrating it is for Libby.But Libby's no angel, either. And I admire an author who has the courage to construct a main character who is flawed. She's judgmental and overly critical of others. Yet it serves as nice counterbalance for showing how uncomfortable she is with herself. She wouldn't be so harsh with her opinions of what people are wearing or how their is styled, if she felt at home in her own skin. Her defense mechanisms kick in when she feels like a fish out of water, and it's only when she begins to fall in love with Blaine that she no longer notices his bleached hair or his muddy work boots. She just sees him.However, Magan paints a picture as to why Libby acts the way she does. She was an outcast in high school who was nothing more than a tall and gawky band geek. In college, she was hazed by having to stand in her underwear while her boyfriend drew circles on her legs with a Sharpie while criticizing her 'thunder thighs.' Her past certainly didn't foster the creation of a healthy self-esteem. And that's why, her transformation from an outcast to a ditzy blonde to her true, authentic self is so engaging. You can't help pulling for her as she corrects her course realizing that the path she was on was only dragging her down. All she needed was people who cared about her and believed in what she could accomplish in order to set her straight.