Review: Fun and Earnest
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 29, 2013
Catch is a really fun, sweet novella that may not have the most believable plot in the world, but it's so engaging and earnestly written that the far-fetched storyline doesn't really matter.  The story is set during 18-year-old Miranda's last family vacation before she moves across the country to attend college; her impending separation from her family is forcing her to confront her conflicting desires to take risks and explore new things, while also wanting to stick to what's safe and familiar.  She's forced to face this conflict head-on--and make a decision--when her purse is snatched on the Vegas strip.  Miranda's sister gets the idea to call Miranda's cell phone and confront the thief...and not only does he actually answer, but he turns out to be anything but your typical purse snatcher.  Ollie is actually a young, good-looking, charming guy who might be willing to give Miranda her possessions back--if she'll play by his rules.  Of course, playing games with a thief, even a charming one, is definitely a risk...Once the purse-snatching occurred, one thing that really kept me reading Catch was wanting to find out why Ollie took purses.  And while I wasn't a hundred percent convinced by his reasoning, I did like Ollie more and more as we got to know him better.  However, I found I was most intrigued by Miranda's personal struggles as she was dealing with the thought of leaving her home and family for the first time, wondering if she could become the kind of person who takes risks and embraces new experiences, both in love and in life.  The last third of the story didn't go the way I'd expected at all, and I was glued to my kindle till the last sentence!Overall, Catch was a lot of fun and very well written, and I'm glad I took the time to read it!