I love all of Julie Halpern’s books. This is no exception. Into The Wild Nerd Yonder is definitely still my favorite, so if you haven’t read this author, I’d start there. But this book is wonderful, too. The cover is blah. If I didn’t love the author I would have passed this by on the shelf. Her other covers are outstanding. Book covers matter a lot to me, I’ve realized.
What I loved about this young adult book is the premise of girl and boy being best friends, but sending signals that indicate otherwise while girl hopes for more and finally takes that risky leap. I loved Josh and Lil’s friendship. Of course I hoped she would get the guy, but their friendship was so lovable, it was really all I needed to get me through the book. I really didn’t care very much about Penny, the girl who faked her own kidnapping the day after high school ends, which causes Josh and Lil to take a road trip (quest) to find her. I think it mixed in an element of higher drama than the rest of the book could hold up, and shouldn’t have been forced to. I was definitely in it to see where Josh and Lil ended up. And I like where they landed.
Julie’s writing is so funny. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: humor is in the funny-bone of the the beholder. Sometimes you just match humor and Julie’s sense of humor is definitely the same as mine. And I think because of that, I relate to her characters and they seem so damn lovable. I will read all of Julie Halpern’s books. And, check out her blog, too. Also funny.
Sidenote: How awesome is it that I read this on vacation while in Portland after just having visited Powell’s City of Books? Very awesome!! Why? Because Josh and Lil visit Powell’s City of Books in this story. I kind of wish I would have bought this book from that store.
Jody Sparks Mugele 