Review Detail

Reader reviewed by The Book Girl

Sara has the perfect boyfriend: Dave is funny, smart, unbearably kind, and popular. What more could she possibly want? So Sara is pretty surprised when she cant get slacker boy Tobey out of her head. And it's pretty obvious that he is thinking about her too. What's a girl to do? How can you tell if you've found something real?

Susane Colasanti's debut novel is one to be remembered. It's a playful high school romance that explores first true love and what you'd do to get it. Told from the perspectives of both Sara and Tobey, it gives an insight to the different character's actions that you don't get with just one PoV. Sara brings the role of responsibility and brains to the story. Tobey's competely opposite character, of the laid back, carefree musician, balances hers perfectly. When it Happens explores the fine line of who you are vs who people want you to be toward the beginning and the pressures of knowing when youre ready to take your relationship to the next level.

The use of different fonts to differ between each person helps to keep things organized. The characters are very well developed to the point where you feel like you know them. They're funny, but not unreasonably so, and nothing about the text feels forced. The dialogue is completely realistic to a high school setting and makes the story flow. All around an amazing novel!