Review: If I had a teen girl, I'd recommend this book to her.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 16, 2013
First reviewed at New Adult AddictionThis was a 4.5 for me, but I round up.Poor Bentley. Literally, poor Bentley. She used to be rich but her dad lost his job, and then the house, and then her private school education, and her friends. Now she's living in a small two bedroom apartment on the wrong side of town and is going to a school with metal detectors and has a nice gang problem going on.Enter boy-next-door, who is sorta punk/goth, Kai. I loved Kai. In fact, I wish he had more time in this book because he was fantastic. A nice walking contradiction--is he a bad boy with his tattoos and piercings? Or is he a good boy who respects his God-fearing mother.Well, he's both, so I liked that. He's got his own set of rules in life, probably based on his mother's religion, but I like young adult books about kids who can stretch the limits but always know where their boundaries are.Bentley is between worlds in this book as well. She's still got a little snob in her, it's hard to just shrug off an entire lifestyle. But she's willing to make the most of whatever life throws at her. Which is where the title comes in. Bentley knows how to roll with the punches. She get up off her ass, gets an after-school job and even sells a prized possession in order to help out with her college fund.But life is still pretty rough--for one, Kai's mother hates her and for another, so does his ex-girlfriend. So there's a few obstacles to overcome, not to mention a little secret about why Bentley and her ex broke up last year in school.This was a four star story for me until it got to the big reveal. I have a totally different set of standards for YA novels than I do for adult books, so in this case, I really liked the message it was sending in several respects. I won't say what those messages were so I don't spoil it, but I added half a star for that reason alone.If I had a teen girl, I'd recommend this book to her. Nice sweet romance with kids who don't do stupid things. Refreshing.** One note, just my opinion, but I think the cover should be less sweet and more edgy to represent Bentley's new life.Thank you Magan Vernon and Xpresso Tours for the opportunity to review the book.