Review: Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Title: Over You 
Author: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Genre: Young Adult, Chick Lit
Release Date: August 21, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 304

Format: eBook 

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Bookdepository

Read from August 13 - 25, 2012 

My Rating: 

Summary: After the grand explosion of her relationship, seventeen-year-old Max Scott developed what every girl in the history of the world has been waiting for: a way to get over being dumped. Now Max is the go-to guru for heartbroken high-school girls all over NYC. But when her ex unexpectedly shows up in her neighborhood, Max’s carefully controlled world starts to unravel. With her clients’ hearts hanging in the balance, Max will have to do the seemingly impossible: get over him once and for all. 

How is it that civilization evolved the ability to shuttle someone to the moon, but other than capturing its excruciating details in every medium, it hadn't come up with anything to guide women through heartbreak? 

This is a story about a 17-year-old girl, Max Scott, who runs a company of her own called Ex, Inc. With the help of Max's two friends, the company helps girls all over New York get over their exes. So far Max is the guru of heartbreak, until she sees Hugo Tillman, the guy who dumped her years ago, in the neighborhood. And then this proves to her that she isn't really as over him as she thinks she is.

I liked the idea of this book. I thought it was very promising and that it would be a fun read. And in a way, it is. I expected it to be a YA novel, but it turns out to be chick lit with YA characters. Now, my experience with chick lit novels in the past has told me that I don't tend to like them that much --there are only a few chick lit books that I have given the maximum of 4 stars to. And while I liked Over You enough, there are some things in the book that kept me from fully enjoying it.

In the very beginning, I had a problem getting into it. To begin with, I'm not really a big fan of third-person omniscient narration in chick lit, and this is exactly how the book is narrated. What's more, the run-on sentences (some are 7 lines long!) with lots of punctuation marks make me constantly lose track of what's being said. This wasn't fun. The progress was slow and I was annoyed more than anything. But after a quarter of the book, it became less difficult for me. I'm not sure if this was because I'd already got used to it or the writing really was better. Still, I wasn't impressed with the writing, to say the least.

There are many ways the book could have been better. Especially in the character department. While they're fun to read about, they don't have much depth. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. Max is a good character, but I'm not sure if I liked her. She's portrayed as strong, confident, and someone who knows exactly what she's doing and doesn't let anyone mess with her. But years ago, she's been broken too. Max's breakup with Hugo, as revealed later in the book, is very miserable and involves goose shit. I liked how she thinks she's fine until Hugo comes back into her life again and she loses her cool. That's as realistic as  a relationship can get. But I don't like the way the book makes Hugo a jerk. I mean, Max is seriously not over him and she loves him so much still, and when they have another shot, the writers decide to make him the biggest asshole ever so that she realizes he's not for her and so she can easily make a decision to go back to her present love interest and easily get over Hugo. What I'm trying to say is, after all the crying and pining, if he's really that much of a jerk, how come she doesn't realize it until now? But that's not the point. The point is that I find it a very bad plot device -- one that weakens the conflict in the story and makes everything too easy. Hugo is an important character because he makes all that Max think she is come crashing down. Hugo could've had much more depth to his character and be used to make Max doubt herself even more before she finally gets over him, which would make the story much more powerful.

Bottom line: Over You has a very promising idea and is a light and fun read, but it could have been much better.


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This review is also posted on Goodreads.
I received a digital copy from Edelweiss and the publisher for review.

Review: Sammy's Hill by Kristin Gore

Title: Sammy's Hill
Author: Kristen Gore
Genre: Chicklit
Release Date: 2004
Publisher: Random
Format: Paperback
Pages: 387
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Bookdepository
Read from November 4 to 9, 2011
My rating: 

Summary: Samantha Joyce, Gore's heroine, is a 26-year-old self-deprecating health-care policy advisor to Robert Gary, a well-respected senator from her home state of Ohio. Between endless work days, a grueling campaign schedule, and frequent trips to the pet store where she seeks advice on caring for her listless Japanese fighting fish, Sammy finds time to obsess over her new boyfriend, sexy speechwriter Aaron Driver. As things heat up with Aaron, Sammy's work schedule takes on a new intensity when Gary becomes the Democratic candidate for vice president. Along the way, scandal clouds both her personal and professional life, and our heroine discovers the often salacious underbelly of life on the hill.

Oh myy! I just completed my 2011 reading goal with this book! *throws confetti*

I've had this book for almost a year now and never really wanted to read it, until one day, my main bookshelf became sadly clustered and full, so this had to be taken out. Feeling slightly guilty for it to be homeless, I decided to finally go through with it.

I have mixed feelings about this book, there are some things that I really like about it and some that turn me off. Well, first of all, Sammy is kind of funny, as expected to be in chicklit. She's a health care adviser (if my memory's correct) to Senator Robert Gary (called RG in the book). She's obsessive and ambitious and sometimes reminds me of myself (crying over the death of fish, obsessive thinking, etc.). I find her character to be believable, though I'm not sure if I like her all that much. Secondly, I think this book is too full of political stuff to really be fully identified as chicklit. I found that there are more of professional than personal stuff in it. And yes, it sometimes bored me. Kristin Gore, the author, really knows so much about politics, I assume, but then again I could be wrong, because I'm not really a native and don't know much about America's political system. I like to think I've learned some knowledge on politics just by reading it. Lastly, the getting together with Charlie Lawton (hover to see spoiler) doesn't look very believable to me. It's too easy, after all that's been happening between them and Sammy's many guys. But I can't deny that I like them being together.

There are a couple of things that I specially I like about this book. I like how RG and Sammy seem the care so much about the public good, whereas other politicians view politics as a means to do something for their own goods, rather than for the people. Politicians like that are everywhere, and that's why it's nice to read about the good ones, even though they're fictional. It kind of restores faith in me that maybe there really are the good ones out there waiting to show themselves and make some great impacts. And also, the last page of the book, how it ends, is hilarious. Hahahahhahaha. RG FTW! All in all, Sammy's Hill is an enjoyable read.


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This review is also posted on Goodreads.