Review: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Title: Flat-Out Love
Author: Jessica Park
Pages: 389 pages
Format acquired: Kindle edition
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Published on: April 11th 2012 / September 11th 2012
Source: Purchased in Amazon
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

He was tall, at least six feet, with dirty blond hair that hung over his eyes. His T-shirt read Nietzsche Is My Homeboy.

So, that was Matt. Who Julie Seagle likes. A lot. But there is also Finn. Who she flat out loves.

Complicated? Awkward? Completely.

But really, how was this freshly-minted Boston transplant and newbie college freshman supposed to know that she would end up living with the family of an old friend of her mother's? This was all supposed to be temporary. Julie wasn't supposed to be important to the Watkins family, or to fall in love with one of the brothers. Especially the one she's never quite met. But what does that really matter? Finn gets her, like no one ever has before. They have connection.

But here's the thing about love, in all its twisty, bumpy permutations—it always throws you a few curves. And no one ever escapes unscathed.

New York Times Best-selling author Jessica Park mines the territory of love’s growing pains with wit, sharp insights, and a discernible heat and heartbeat. Her previous novels include Relatively Famous and she authored the e-shorts What the Kid Says (Parts 1 and 2) and Facebooking Rick Springfield.

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I don't think I've laughed, loved and aww-ed in a book this much since... well, ever. I absolutely adored Flat-Out Love. It's the type of book you'd want to read when you're feeling down or if you just want to read something really, really good. I curse the fact that I was reading via Kindle App because I literally couldn't flip the pages fast enough. The story grabs at your heart and either squeezes it or tickles it with a feather (both odd yet appealing sensations.) I literally just want to marry every single character in this book (except for the already married ones,) and yes Flat Finn too. Jessica Park creates such witty and heartwarming characters that you just can't help but love. I flat-out fell in love with this book. Just, *squish*

This isn't the type of book that's all lovey-dovey romance, there's a lot of depth to it. There are issues in this book that you wouldn't have expected to pop out, Jessica Park through me out of the loop way too many times to count. And I was glad that this book didn't turn out to be some cliched and predictable romance, I was relieved for all the swerves and overtakes (haha) this book took.

This book should be called "Flat-Out Love and Hilarity". I love the characters' banter and quips with each other. Especially Julie's with Matt and Julie's with Finn. Julie has a trademark way of interacting and talking to people, it's like she just can't help but be really witty. I love every single one of her dialogues with other characters. I'm pretty sure that I busted a gut laughing out loud too much. Reading the first chapter is enough to show you how amusingly tragic Julie's life is. It's like even in the face of misfortune, she finds a way to lighten things up.

I loved Julie. Like, I'd totally make her one of my BFFFL because she's such a great person. Not only does she have a great personality, but she's also a really cool kind of gal. Okay, living in your mom's friend's house may seem weird, but add on the fact that everyone in that family is uber smart and kinda odd is enough to turn other people off but Julie took that all into stride. She accepted Matt's nerdy T-shirt collection, Celeste's Flat Finn obsession and not-teenager-like language, and Erin and Roger's slight estrangement from their children. She didn't judge these people, she did her best and tried to fix a broken family. She didn't give up on them either, even though she knew that it may take her a long time to get them all fixed up. Julie is one of those people you just know is special, you know that she's destined to do great things, and she did.

I honestly don't know who I love more, Finn or Matt. They're both such great people and their chemistry with Julie is WHOA. But I'm leaning more towards Matt because he's more... present. He's such a sweet guy too! And the guy's a genius! He goes to MIT with a double major for a really nerdy science-y major that makes me want to pinch his cheeks. I love it whenever he'd spout off random science-y or just plain random things. His status updates on Facebook are hilarious too! Oh my gosh, I think I'm just fangirling over him... Haha! But yeah, he's a great guy (I'D TOTALLY MARRY HIM.) Finn is the exact opposite of Matt, because while Matt may be smart and genius-like, Finn's more of the outgoing daredevil type. He likes to travel and help other people out (he's obviously a philanthropist.) And his moments with Julie, even though their only through Facebook/e-mail/text, make me 'aww' like crazy. Trust me, when you read about these two, you'll understand my dilemma.

Celeste was a pretty iffy character for me. Not because she's weird but there were just moments I wanted to shake her and then steal Flat Finn away from her. I don't know if it's her attitude that turned me off but it's definitely something. But as the book went on, I gradually started to love her. I never realized the depth of how much she loved both her brother, I'd always just thought that she just idolized Finn but I never knew that she felt that way about Matt too. I felt so bad for Matt because he's really the most under-appreciated character of this book and I'm glad to know that people love him too (BECAUSE I DO, LIKE CRAZY. LOVE ME, PLEASE, MATT.)

OMG. I seriously adored Flat Finn! Most of the really funny (and serious) moments involved him. I loved how he progressed from cardboard cut-out to movable cardboard cut-out. The story behind him really made me tear up and whimper. The amount of emotions that revolves around him is enough to make a reader cry.

Flat-Out Love is a story about self-discovery and learning to trust other people. It's the type of book that will make you realize how important your loved ones are no matter how distant you may be with them. It's the type of book that will make you cry while you're laughing and it will make you believe that there are people out there who are genuine enough. I absolutely loved Flat-Out Love and I honestly don't doubt that anyone will too. The story is so heartwarming and captivating that you just can't help but fall in love with it.

Rating: