Review Detail

This book is the proud owner of what is probably the worst tagline of all time, so my suggestion to you is don’t read the back cover, glance at the front cover, and then just read the book. ‘Cause it’s a darn fine book.

There is your classical good girl/bad boy troubled relationship going on, but it’s done rather well. Lucy and Jude are up there as far as teen romance couples go. This is partly due to the fact that Jude really respects and cares about Lucy, despite how messed up his life has been. He’s a deep character (which is hard to come by in books like this) and so sad. Then we have Lucy, whose point of view this book is from, who is probably the only person who could make dancing seem like a reasonable career option, opposed to something that little girls want to do. She’s also very funny, spunky, and the sort of strong woman that doesn’t make the men around her seem like wimps.

There isn’t really any main plot to it, but all of the little stuff carries right along nicely. The writing is a little awkward and could have stood being edited over one more time, even so, it still has a very personal feel. Sadly, the ending contains far too many long, touching, completely out of character speeches. It’s confusing and unnecessary, and I was a bit disappointed. This can be mostly overlooked though, because while it’s not the most original of premises there are lots of good bits hidden on the inside.

It’s about love, the risks that come along with it, and what you have to give up for it. It’s about trust and pain, betrayal and joy. It’s about defending what you have to and knowing when to give up. It’s a love story, pure and simple.