Review: The Best of the New York Leopards Series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 29, 2014
4.5 starsCan I recycle a paragraph from my review of Running Back?"And that's what I really freaking love about Allison Parr. Her ability to create and write strong, intelligent female characters in their 20s is really remarkable. As is her ability to show what life in NYC is really like. I moved to NYC when I was 22 and I was making no money and let me tell you, the NYC life depicted in so many books is just totally bogus. But not Allison Parr's books. From the places the characters live, to the places they eat, to the struggles they go through, everything is just so true to life."If you like smart female characters in their early-20s, if you like sexy (not cheesy) football players, if you like New York City, if you like well written books and you still haven't read a book by Allison Parr I don't know what you're waiting for. Seriously, I don't know how many more ways I can say it, she is the master of life-in-New-York-City after college stories. And Imaginary Lines? It's my favorite one of her books so far.Going in I was skeptical of Abe. From the glimpses we got of him in the first two books in this series, especially Rush Me, I just wasn't sure of what I thought of him as the male lead, but oh my god was I wrong! And Tamar, oh Tamar, I love you so much and I want you to be my new BFF (sorry current BFF). Abe and Tamar are probably the most real characters of any of the New York Leopards books. I obviously loved Rachael and Ryan, but Ryan is ultra-famous and also kind of a major d-bag at the beginning of Rush Me. Natalie and Mike were also great, but the whole Ireland thing and Natalie's screwed up family and famous mother gave their story a different twist.But Tamar and and Abe? The epitome of normal. What did I love about them so much. First, the fact that they've known each other forever. They grew up together, their mothers were good friends in college, and even though they never had a romantic relationship (much to Tamar's dismay) they know each other really well. Second, they have such amazing chemistry and they're hilarious together. They're constantly bantering with each other, something I normally hate, but Allison Parr did a great job handling it here. Third, they date! They go to parties together and meet each other's friends, they go out to dinner, they cook together, and they explore New York together. It was nice to see a couple just date. Fourth, their families. Neither of them wants to tell their family that they're trying out this dating thing because their mothers will start trying to set a wedding date, but their families were caring and sweet and hilarious. Fifth, even though Abe is a star football player he's not famous on the same level as Ryan so the two of them can, for the most part, get around unnoticed.Let's go back to that how well Allison Parr does 20-something NYC stories again. Here are all of the things she did here that made me so incredibly happy:- Tamar's apartment in Astoria. Great neighborhood to have a young woman live in. And her random roommates? So freaking accurate. Not to mention the depiction of the small spaces and roommates being happy when one of the other roommates is gone so they have more space.- When she starts her new job Tamar mentions how she hates when she "upspeaks" or ends a non-question sentence with a question mark. When I first started working one of the older women in the office would always go on and on and on about how my generation speaks in questions and how stupid we all sound. And you know what? She's right. This is something I'm really aware of now and try so hard not to do.- Tamar takes the subway all the time. That's how real people in NYC get around, none of this cab business.- Tamar's job at the sports website. She's friendly with her coworkers, she eats at her desk, and there are awkward office get togethers.So please read this book (and the others in the New York Leopards series). When I was at the New York City Teen Author Festival a few months ago David Levithan and Jennifer E. Smith were discussing New Adult and saying how they didn't think any early-20-somethings were bemoaning the fact that there were no books about them. I disagreed with them and books like Imaginary Lines are the reason why. This is a smart, interesting, accurate story of what it's like to be young in NYC and why shouldn't people at age or people who want to look back at that age or people who are looking forward to that age get to read about that time?I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are my own.