Thursday, November 3, 2011

ARC Review: DITCHED (A LOVE STORY)

The Book: DITCHED (A LOVE STORY)
The Author: Robin Mellom
The Publisher: Hyperion (An Imprint of Disney-Hyperion)
Anticpated Release Date: January 10, 2012

Marketing Copy Summary:
High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.


Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat handle first.

Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.

Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom.

And then ditched her.

Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together -- stain by stain on her thrift-store dress -- exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag's moving car...

But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love.

My Thoughts:
For me, this was a fun reading vacation that just didn't last long enough.  A sharp departure from the dark, tragic tales that I'm known to read, DITCHED flew by, evoking reactions that ranged from sweet 'Aw' moments, to yanking a snort or three out of me, to rolling my eyes, to earning my glares and more than a few fist shakes for Justina.  All the kind of reactions an author wants to get from his/her audience, Robin Mellom does this effortlessly.

The MC, Justina, reminds me of myself when I was in high school.  A bit of a smart ass, a bit of a loner, who tries to herself that she just doesn't care what others think, but really she does.  A LOT.  She wears all black, not because she's making some statement about the downward spiral of today's youth, but because it makes it less obvious--she thinks--that her 'new' clothes are really thrift store finds that could possibly have once upon a time belonged to her classmates.  She also has a bit of a reputation for being a serial kisser that persists in following her around even though she hasn't kissed anyone in so long, she's seriously kiss-deprived.

But, that's all going to change at prom.  Because Ian Clark (sigh, Ian Clark) asked her.  Maybe it was only to go as friends, but if everything goes according to plan, their status as 'just friends' will change.

Unfortunately for Justina, NOTHING goes according to her carefully laid out plans, beginning with her dress.  Lesson Learned: Don't let your mother talk you into dying your shoes to match your dress...or painting your nails to match said dress...and for damned sure don't let her call your date to tell him to get you blue roses for your corsage, again TO MATCH YOUR DRESSPoor Justina.  She only wanted Ian to see her in some color other than black.  Now, she looks like a giant blueberry.

From there, everything just snowballs, until yes, Ian ditches her halfway through prom.  The rest of the night is an exercise in folly, as she works to track down her disappearing date.  Along the way, she ends up in demolition derby car, making a pit stop at a tattoo parlor, then crashes the wrong hotel party, and when she finally gets to the right one, Ian is once again gone. 

This night can't possibly get any worse...or can it? Oh yes, my friends.  It most certainly can.

In this fast, fun ride, you will alternate between laughing, groaning, gasping in horror, and shaking your fist, yelling, "WTF, Justina? Open your eyes girl!" and back to laughing again.  Read this book, friends.  You will plow right through it and enjoy every minute of it.

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