Monday, March 22, 2010

My Ridiculous, Romantic, Obsessions (YA)


My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions. Becca Wilhite. 2010. March 2010. Shadow Mountain. 176 pages.

Mom pulls her new toy, a talking GPS directions-thingie up close to her eyes.

My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions is just too much fun! Sarah, our heroine, can't see herself starring in her own romance, and there is the problem! When Sarah meets Ben, she swoons. He is wow-worthy. But everything she's picked up from reading romance tells her that Ben wouldn't, couldn't be interested in her. Yet he's there. Again and again and again, Ben is there for her. Will Sarah open up her eyes and realize the truth in time?

This one works because of the humor. And because it's such a light, satisfying read.

Walking home with Ben . . . (Time out. Let's just take a second to enjoy the novelty of that phrase. Walking home with Ben. As in I Am Walking Home with Ben. If this moment were in a book, I'd be willowy and graceful, and he'd be smitten with my charm and dismayed at my appropriate distance. Things like this do not happen to me. Ever. I am not the girl who walks home with Ben. Or with anyone else, really. But for right now, I'm going to act like that girl. Okay, ready?) Walking home with Ben, I wonder if he's going to keep up a steady stream of chatter all the way back to my place. No such luck. (25)
This moment could be from a romance novel. Except there's no heavy breathing. And I'm not wearing a corset. And Ben isn't a pirate or a prince in disguise or a wealthy European landowner or a dashing older gentleman with a crazy wife locked in a tower. (39)
There's no use pretending that I'm some fashionably waiflike girl who doesn't anything but celery and bean sprouts, so when Ben asks if I want to get another cone with him, I get all shivery with anticipation. For the ice cream, too. (47)
I recommend this one to those who love romance novels.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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