Lovin' los libros

 

 

When I saw this book was about a theater girl falling for a baseball player, I felt like my whole high school existence came hurtling back to me. Especially since THIS WAS ME. I was the high school theater girl (who totally did the musical Crazy For You junior year) and I dated a baseball player. Granted, I wasn't obsessed with Gene Kelly and my then boyfriend definitely had NO former talent as a dancer. Hah. I saw a lot of myself in Maddie though and not just the theater connection. I also had my head in the clouds at times and wished life were more like the movies.

 

This was definitely a cute, fun read. I really enjoyed Maddie's character, even though she could be a bit pushy at times with Jesse, but I think her heart was in the right place.  I really like the way their relationship played out because Maddie had an important lesson to learn about accepting and loving someone for who they are and not who you want them or think they could be. Jesse was a sweetheart and I really enjoyed him for the most part. The way that he would clam up on her sometimes irritated me a bit, but he's a guy and most guys don't want to sit around and talk about their feelings. So I got that. I adored them together, as the best friend's brother trope is always a favorite of mine. Even though he could be a little cold at times, he made up for it with some super sweet scenes. What he did for her birthday absolutely melted my heart and the end was so perfect for them.

 

Angela, Jesse's sister and Maddie's first friend in Texas, was a lot of fun too and I really like how she embraced Maddie as a friend from the beginning. Moving is a difficult adjustment, so it was nice to see the two bond so quickly. I think it would be super fun to see an Angela/Red book that was set during the same time as this one. (Hint, hint!)

 

I really like how present both Maddie and Jesse's families are in this book as well. I never get tired of seeing it in young adult novels and I felt their relationships were incredibly important to their characterization and growth. Maddie, especially, is dealing with a lot of transitions and while she doesn't always act the most mature in light of those, she does recognize that her parents love her and she is an important part of the family, no matter how it changes.

 

Overall, I definitely enjoyed being whisked back to my high school years with Maddie and her family and friends. Having enjoyed Kristin Rae's debut, Wish You Were Italian and now this one, I am definitely looking forward to reading more of hers in the future!