Review Detail

This was a very fun book. It was fast paced and really flew by. Every chapter had a time at the beginning, so you could follow along hour by hour of Eliza’s night, which made the book seem to go by even quicker. The plot was very clever – who among us has never written a secret in a book and hidden it away, afraid for anyone to find it? Often throughout the book, I thought about how mortified I would be if somebody ever found my journals and threatened to post them for the world to see. When Eliza was in a particular situation, and I thought “why is she doing that,” then I would remember how I might do anything to prevent that from happening to me. (Which kind of makes it sound like I have really juicy secrets tucked away somewhere, but I swear they wouldn’t be that interesting to anyone but me.) Anyway, any time you feel disbelief at something that is happening to Eliza, remember what you might do in the same situation and just move on.

'And then I get it. The 318s have somehow decided to make me do the things that are in my notebook. All the things I’m afraid of. The things I’ve been writing since the seventh grade. And if I don’t, they’re going to post the book on the internet, and everyone at school, no, everyone with an internet connection, will know all my secrets. For a second, it feels like my throat swallows up my heart and my breath catches in my throat. There’s only one thing left to do. I put my head in my hands and start to cry.'

The characters were great. I felt so sorry for Eliza and what she was going through. I was glad she had friends who were there for her. They followed her around all night, offering support, even before they knew what was so special about the book. She said she needed them and they were there. I was a little disappointed in one of the gals who had such low self-esteem that she lived for one particular boy to call so she could be his booty call.

I liked how snappy the dialogue was. These are real teens who are sarcastic and quick and sassy. (I like to think I was that witty as a teen, but I fear I may be looking back with rose-colored glasses.) I especially liked Eliza’s internal dialogue. It was amusing to read how she talks to herself and then how she talks to her friends.

Just a small amount of sexy hotness, mostly in the glances and unsaid things between Eliza and Cooper. There were some sweet and sensitive moments as Eliza and Cooper (and their friends) grow up and mature during their trials of the night.

I’m not too pleased with the cover. Unless I missed it, nobody had a VW bug in the book, and at no point did Eliza sit on the ground in front of a car and listen to an ipod, and certainly not while smiling. I do like the blue color and the city skyline though.

The Sum Up: A quick, fun read with heart that was enjoyable and smart.