Review: Over You by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Title: Over You
Authors: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Pages: 304 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published on: August 21st 2012
Source: Bought from Fully Booked
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

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.

Brilliant at bringing humor to the trials and tribulations of the lovestruck, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have crafted a tale that will resonate with any girl who has ever been in love or had her heart broken. It brims with smart observations, features a pitch-perfect teen voice, and will attract fans of Jenny Han, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Barnholdt. Readers are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sharp spin on breaking up, making up, and getting even.

(Summary from Goodreads)

Review:

I've had a really good past experience with Ms. McLaughlin and Ms. Kraus with their previous novel, The Nanny Diaries. (I liked the movie installment too!) So it surprised me when I saw their name under the YA section of my favourite bookstore. I never really pegged them to go under YA. I always saw them in the adult chick-lit world. But then again, I only read one book of theirs. Who was I to judge, right? So I bought the book and there it sat on my shelf, waiting for an idle weekend. Time came and went, I almost forgot the promise I made to myself that I would make a review. Just recently when I figured I haven't been typing up much reviews and been letting Louisse do all the work. (Nyehe. I'm mean, I know).

This book screams chick-lit from the cover page to the last. If the set-up wouldn't be in high school, this would fall under chick-lit adults entirely. I think one of the reasons that I picked this book up was because the cover was very appealing. Very simple, but interesting. I have a weak spot for pretty covers. (who doesn't?) But in terms of storyline and plot, I think this is something that YA chick-lit readers would enjoy.

A tragic, messy breakup so bad that 17-year old Max Scott had to move out of school and made a dent in her life. I could almost imagine a mascara-streaked teenager listening to " All Out Of Love" by Air Supply, ripping photos of her ex-beau boiling in a mixing pot of emotions (mostly hate. to herself or the guy, one can only know) only to bawl even more then curl up and sleep. This is exactly what Max went through. And having gone through that and coming out unscathed (sort of) she thinks she is fit to handle a business that deals upon heart broken girls whose hearts got crushed. And while she's booming with clients, (one Breakup Specialist, please) no one really knew what happened to Max during HER big meltdown. So even while she successfully mends every broken heart of the girls in NYC, it seems that Max has some problems of her own. Problems like her past suddenly comes back in her life even after furiously avoiding ANY contact with him and especially now, when this certain boy who left her in a messy heap years ago, wants her back. What I really liked about this book is that it was really honest. Honest in a sense that yes, girls do go through this. It's not the hyped reality kind where the heartbroken damsel in distress just finds another knight in shining armor to cover up what the other guy left. It's very honest in a sense that yes, in real life, people DO think they're over someone (or pretend to be over someone) and act like they're above the situation but the second they see that past come back in the picture, they lose control and crash. This is what happened in this book. And the twist is that a knight HAS come to her rescue. And what I liked about it is that she didn't act on an impulse and grab the knight's hand. No siree. Max had to do some learning and she had it served to her the hard way. This book all in all had a really great story line. Something very easy to follow and understandable. Some people dislike the shifting POV's, but for me I find it an interesting addition to plain ol' third person speakers.

If you're looking for a somewhat sweet and funny and sad-ish kind of chick-lit book to cozy up in during a rainy weekend, this is it.

Rating:

.5