The book of this week is How to Love by Katie Cotugno. Before I write this review, I have to explain something. I went to the Book Expo America back in June with my sister, and we got several Advance Reader copies of different books. How to Love happened to be one of them, so this is really a review in advance, because it doesn't come out until October 1, this coming Tuesday. I also need to take a minute to gush about how exciting it is that I'm reviewing a book before it's published. I feel like a real reviewer!
Now on to the important stuff.Summary: "Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember. But he's never noticed that Reena even exists . . . until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.
After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to life without Sawyer, but just as suddenly as he disappeared, he turns up again. Reena wants nothing to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said his being back wasn't stirring something in her.
After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?" - Summary courtesy of amazon.com
The Good: Out of the three books I've reviewed so far, I liked this one the most. It's really sweet and relatable, two of my favorite things. I think part of the reason I liked it so much is because Reena reminds me of myself - sans unplanned pregnancy, that is. She loves to write - ahem - and she has this desperate need to travel, so her dream is to become a travel writer. If I could choose any job, that would be it, so I was genuinely heartbroken when she got pregnant because it basically crushed her dream. The other thing I really liked was the great conflict within Reena. She genuinely loves her daughter and wants the best for her and smothers her with affection, but she is really resentful because now she's stuck at a community college with a waitress job. She's not resentful of Hannah herself; rather, she's more resentful of the situation, especially herself and Sawyer. The conflict within her family is also really well-written. They love Reena just as much as they always have, but an added member to the family has taken its toll. Both conflicts were so realistic of how I'm sure many unexpected mothers and their families feel that it added a realism to the book that was much appreciated.
The Bad: I just sat here and looked at the blinking cursor for a minute and I still couldn't think of anything substantial. The only thing I could think of was that it seemed like more of the book was in the past than the present, and I think it would have been a truly great book if it was the other way around. However, Cotugno was trying to set the scene for what really happened when they were teenagers, and I can totally understand that. I really liked this book a lot, and it's Cotugno's first novel, which makes me that much more excited for the stuff she has planned for the future.
Overall Score: I'm going to give this book an 8.5. I really liked it a lot, and if I picked it up sometime in the future to read it again, I wouldn't be surprised. I'm pretty sure it's also one of those stories that if you showed me the cover in 5 years, I'll still remember what it was about - which is really a huge accomplishment for Cotugno.
Would I recommend this to a fellow bookworm?
Wholeheartedly. It's a feel-good story with some real family drama thrown in. If it were a movie, I'd say it would be under "romantic drama." It's definitely a good read, and Katie Cotugno just gained one more fan.
No comments:
Post a Comment