Review: Sweet & Funny Story That Will Have You Smiling The Whole Time
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2014
Excuse me while I wipe the smile off my face. This book was a breath of fresh air. The characters drew me in, the story worked its way into my heart, and the writing had me laughing out loud more times than I could count. I adored this book – it was sweet, funny, sad and simple.Abby McAllister has lived her life in a bubble. Until the past few months, she’s been in the hospital for most of her teenage years. At nineteen, she has yet to see the world or experience life. So she has made the decision to go on a two week road trip into the unknown. Days before she is about to leave, she meets a boy – one with a sexy smile that makes her heart flutter – after he follows her into a funeral parlor. Awkward meeting place, yes, but it really set the stage for this quirky relationship that these two have. During their unique meeting, Abby lets it slip that she is planning a road trip and Beck invites himself along. With the encouragement of her friend, Abby agrees to bring Beck along, despite how crazy it may sound to travel with someone who may be a serial killer for all she knows. Thus begins a fun excursion into the unknown.So I absolutely loved Abby. She may not have a lot of life experience but she has a wicked sense of humor and at times diarrhea of the mouth. She was not some nave, uptight girl with a chip on her shoulder, which after getting to know her back story, I would completely understand if she was like that. Instead, she was honest, brave and loyal.And then there was Beck. I can’t say his name without putting a huge grin on my face. He was charming and sweet and a whole lot sexy. Despite just meeting her, he knew Abby – he knew her facial expressions, he knew her body language, he just knew her. He had his own reasons for going on this trip but there is something so romantic about him dropping everything to go with her. I loved him as soon as he bought her a sleeping bag and never stopped.This story was just so fun to read. I read this book in one sitting because I needed to know what would happen next. All the different things Abby and Beck experienced together just made my heart warm. It made me want to go on my own road trip (but with a hot boy of course). Everything from mounting a Triceratops to lap dances at a bonfire to swimming in the ocean were all life experiences that Abby needed. I felt like I was watching her evolve and grow as a person. I was just happy for her.Despite the fun times on the road, this book also has incredible sadness to it. For every laugh I had, I shed a tear. I said earlier that this book was simple, let me explain. R.S. Grey chose to tell a story about living life, finding yourself and falling in love. There are no crazy plot twists, no conflicts thrown in for the sake of conflict and no unnecessary angst. The author made this story about the characters and really stayed true to them.Before I end this review I want to mention how much I loved the writing. I love this author’s sense of humor, pop culture references and all around ability to make me feel like I was living Abby’s story. There were times where I would laugh out loud that I surprised myself at how much fun I had reading this book. If you want a book that will make you smile ridiculously and remember what it’s like to fall in love, this is definitely the book for you!