Review: Sk8er Boi revisited (spoilers)
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
I thought about giving this book 3* because it was really well written, but I went with the 2 because I don't see myself reading it again.  Ever.  I was talking to a friend about it, and realized that when I've thought about this story it's been with nothing but irritation.  I like the premise, but the delivery just didn't rub me the right way.I really, really wanted to like this book.  The problem?  It made me so sad reading it.  Not in a gut wrenching, ~this is so emotionally written~ way, but a ~jeeze, she's making me feel sorry for a girl whose life choices suck~ way.  This was not what I thought I was getting (the "she's going to prove herself good enough for him" idea).  She recognized from the beginning that she was an awful person, makes a public apology, and hopes for the best.The storyline would have worked a LOT better if it had only been two years.Because five years?  Seriously?  He's got this amazing hit song, this entire ALBUM based on their relationship, but it took five years for him to get it out?  I have a hard time believing that someone who is otherwise such a strong, confident character would let feelings that deep fester without ever trying to reconnect.Maybe an alternate scene from his POV would have helped.And again - five years with no insight into how she's been living (brooding?) without him?The author spends a LOT of time in the past, showing exactly how mean Natalie was in high school, and how much she despised herself for it.  Then there was angst galore in the present as she revisits that life, finding people she hurt to make her apologies.  It felt like she and her friends hadn't actually moved past high school, which gets pointed out a couple of times.I will say that the author gave her key characters dimensions, although several of the secondaries weren't much more than stereotypes.Basically, take the song sk8er boi and twist the ending so that, instead of being with a new girl who rocks his world, the girl apologizes and they make up.  But it takes so freaking long that you don't get to see them build a new relationship.  The book ends just where I really wanted to see a lot more.  How did they adjust their lives to be together?  What was the backlash from his fans, or the paparazzi that were harassing Natalie?  There wasn't even an epilogue to let you know they made it work.  :(