Review Detail

Darcy Covington is used to having everything taken care of, her car, her meals, her clothes, her house. Money was never a concern. Then her car is repossessed from the school parking lot, in front of her classmates, and Darcy learns that her father’s business is in trouble. Not only that, but her father is nowhere to be found. Darcy and her mom are left to deal with the fallout in the media and their lives. Thankfully, Darcy’s uncle has a thrift store where she can hide out when she needs to, and it has the added bonus of employing a hot mechanic named Lucas. Through it all, Darcy needs to call on strength and abilities she never knew she had in order to help pull her family back together.

I found myself really enjoying this book. The more I got into it, the more I enjoyed it. It managed to be a cute, light story about a girl falling in love while finding herself but also a coming-of-age story about a girl being forced to discover the type of person she could be when she needed to step up.

I loved Darcy as a character. She came from a rich family and maybe was a little spoiled but when things started to fall apart, she was the one finding the strength in herself to make the hard decisions and to do what had to be done in order to move on with their lives. I thought her growth arc was well done and it felt like a natural progression for her character. I enjoyed the way she interacted with people and the faith she had in her father. She was a character that was easy to root for and she made me want to root for the people she loved as well.

There was definite chemistry between her and Lucas. I liked that they became friends first even though it was clear there was something more pulling them together. They met at a vulnerable time in Darcy’s life and she needed someone she could lean on and talk to. Someone who would get it. His little sister Pickles was so adorable and smart for her age, especially when it came to what her brother needed in his life.

I loved the character interactions in this book. They were colorful and each added something to the book and to Darcy;s life. Her uncle Charlie was always there for her even though her father had cut him out of their lives years ago. Liz, her boss, was an example of someone Darcy could be, strong and independent even when accepting some help some times. Her mother was both a path Darcy could have gone down if she’d been unwilling to face the reality of what was happening and a reason for Darcy to face that reality. Her best friend was a link to her old world, a positive link who could give her perspective on things – especially on how she should be with Lucas.

Darcy’s growth was my favourite part of this book but I did also enjoy the articles that were included throughout the book on Darcy’s father and the comments users had posted. Darcy’s father was a motivational self-help guru type and the fact that he took off and supposedly left his business in taters was, of course, making huge headlines. There were users who thought he was a fraud and this was proof and there were users who believed in his words and were helped by his words. They felt like(nicer) versions of posts I would expect to see in real life on a forum or article dedicated to that topic.

Overall, it was a quick read that was propelled by Darcy’s growth as a character. As someone who loved character growth, that made it a very enjoyable read.