Book Club Friday

Hellooooo, Friday! TGIF, riiiight? This week has been a kind of long week. I am back into subbing full time and, as any teacher will tell you, the end of the year is the WORST. The kids are just restless and done. The end is in sight and they are Checked. Out. It took me a couple days to just finally give in, and decide not to fight this battle with them.

So, I am glad it's a weekend, and a holiday weekend, too!

Today I am participating in Heather's Book Club Friday for the first time in what feels like ages. I am reviewing Slammed and Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover. Molly sent me Slammed in a book swap quite a long time ago and it has been taunting me ever since. I am so thankful I finally picked it up, because it was SO good!

Almost immediately after finishing Slammed I went to my Netgalley account because I was pretty sure I had a copy of Point of Retreat (the sequel) for review. Huzzah! I did, which I devoured in less than 24 hours.

Here is the synopsis of Slammed from its Goodreads page:

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

Colleen Hoover's writing really reminded me of John Green. I noticed that from that start and I knew immediately that I would end up devouring everything she has written. There were a few things that I found unrealistic, but this is young adult fiction. I quickly reminded myself that this is a story to get lost in and I promptly got over it. Slammed is full of quotes that are just amazingly rich and make you stop reading to think about it or read the quote over, and over, and over... 

Here are a few I loved: 

“Question everything. Your love, your religion, your passion. If you don't have questions, you'll never find answers.” 

“Don't take life too seriously. Punch it in the face when it needs a good hit. Laugh at it.”  

“Imperfections define perfection” 

“Respect the hand that I was dealt. And to be grateful I was even dealt a hand.” 

Point of Retreat was also pretty good. I won't say it was as good as Slammed, but I definitely enjoyed it and read it very quickly. There is a third book in the series called This Girl. For some reason none of my local libraries have it, so I am probably going to have to buy it. Darn.... 

 If you are a fan of John Green, I definitely recommend this series!