Enjoyable and it made me think. I kind of wish it was around when I was in high school, it clearly identifies the teenage need to fit in, but also the fact it's okay to not be a joiner.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Nanette O'Hare is an unassuming teen who has played the role of dutiful daughter, hard-working student, and star athlete for as long as she can remember. But when a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bubblegum Reaper - the mysterious, out-of-print cult-classic - the rebel within Nanette awakens.
As she befriends the reclusive author, falls in love with a young but troubled poet, and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that sometimes rebellion comes at a high price.


Sometimes in my line of work, ARC's of certain books cross my desk and make me think that I am about to read something sensational. the cover is brilliant, for one thing - very easy to feel comfortable when there is a cover that you can stare at for a few moments and take in what you haven't even started reading. And then, there is the story of a book within the book - and that is always hard to pull off but for the first 50 or so pages, that is exactly what the author achieves.
Also, a character like Nanette comes along and you find yourself identifying with her, understanding her need to not just fit in, but to be her own self. We have all been there, I would think. Add to that a reclusive writer who shares his time with young people to help them discover themselves some more and I was really hooked...

And then the love interest appeared. And the story nose-dived for me. It became a teen-angst romance novel that seemed to lose track of its earlier motivations. It became about 2 "misfits" who defy the odds to find each other...we have all heard that plot before, right? And it was just so sickly-sweet that it overwhelmed the rest of the story.

I wish the author had stuck with the story of the book, the writer and the self-discovery and left the romance in the drawer. I would have preferred that. But that could be just me as well!


Paul
ARH