A. C. MacLaren (2)

I enjoyed this book, both for the successful romances, both teen and adult, as well as its light touch--this is by no means a deep story. That said, there were both bothersome characteristics and included tropes, as well as enjoyable ones. I should mention, for those who have a preference, that there are some very explicit sexual descriptions and scenes, which were a little out of place for me in a novel about teens. Also, please be aware that some general comments could serve as spoilers.

Some of the better things included were these following. The characters showed some lack of confidence in sexual expression, which I think is normal, but not always mentioned. Even kissing is something about which people have anxiety, and one of the protagonists did. Also, it was good to have both the male and female characters muse about or express their feelings, because usually female characters do, but it is less common to have male characters be expressive about feelings. Still, I must say, I wondered about the gender of the writer, and if the feelings expressed by the male characters were realistic, or if instead they were as imagined or desired by a female author. In addition, it was good to see some frequent downsides to romance coming into people's lives, such as "honeymoon cystitis" and the risk of strong difficult feelings that are hard for teens to manage. Importantly, it was cute to have the connection to physics in the title, since Physics class was the setting of the teen characters' getting to know each other. That had a negative aspect too, though, because the cute physics chapter titles seemed strained.

That brings me to some more negative points. In some ways the overwhelmingly positive outcomes to the romances seemed too positive; all the realistic risks failed to cause negative consequences, and all the romances were characterized as having wholly pleasant outcomes. Exactly one quarrel is depicted, and it is brief and leaves no ill feelings. Also, I wondered about the realism of the part where the 17 year-old high-school girl wanted so much to divest herself of her virginity. It must be included that I was irritated by the use of the trope wherein two people feel something like an electric shock when they first touch--does that ever happen? I must say I was also irritated by the times when clearly spell-check was the only copy-editing: when "poured" showed up for "pored", and "risky" for "risqué".

Some more serious problems occurred as well. I thought the one brief suicide mention was too casual, and waved away too quickly. This had the potential to imply to younger readers that suicidal impulses are easy to manage with only the most casual help. I also thought the family conflicts in the teen girl's family were resolved too easily. As difficult as their relationships were, could they really all dissolve when the protagonists wanted them to? The worst thing of all involved the pacing, in that everything seemed to wind up two-thirds of the way through the book, and a few scenes seemed tacked on to the end rather to make sure they were there, even though they were not part of the original story. The quarrel was one of these, and was included, it seems, to provide a little afterthought balance to the "everything is easy" story.

All in all, if a prospective reader seeks in this only the light romance that is there, this is a pleasant read.

Please note that this review is posted due to receiving an Advance Reader Copy, in thanks, but the content of the review was not restricted.… (más)

I was sent a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of writing a review as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. It had a slow start with a lot of characters, but the pace picked up and I was hooked. I was eager to read the entire youthful love story through to the end in all my free time. Many passages had sexually explicit, detailed descriptions. The editing could have been better, with grammatical errors slightly detracting from the flow of the story, at least for me. I re-read a few of the sentences, because they were not complete sentences. The protagonists were endearing. I noticed the author and the main character share the same first initial and last name. I liked the romance.… (más)

When you read a lot, you’re bound to come across many books that you don’t enjoy. Maybe you don’t relate to the characters, or you hate the genre. I don’t really mind writing those reviews, because ultimately it comes down to a matter of opinion. The book wasn’t right for me, but it might be right for someone else.

I’m finding a hard time writing a review for this book, though, because I’m not sure who would really enjoy or benefit from reading this book.

I’ll start with the positives first. For the first quarter of the book, I could really relate to the main character, Amanda, and I thought the book might be enjoyable. Amanda has a crush on the popular guy who’s kind of a player, and she thinks he’s too cool/popular for her (hey, it’s me in high school! Like I said, I can relate!). As far as that part of the story goes, I think the author did a good job of writing from the point of view of an insecure high schooler. I also really enjoyed the chapter titles; each one is named a physics topic, and they line up directly with Amanda and Andrew’s relationship.

Now, onto the not-so-great parts. First, there’s a lot of slut shaming. Like, a lot.

Second, I’m not a prude and I know that teenagers have sex, but that doesn’t mean I want to read a book that details it quite so much. I didn’t expect erotica, but this book has multiple detailed sex scenes between the two 17 year olds. Apparently the age of consent in Scotland is 16, but that didn’t make it less uncomfortable for me.

I felt that the book was incredibly poorly written. In fact, when I read the author’s note at the end and learned that the book has already been edited, I was shocked. I can’t believe that this is the edited work (I didn’t see any note that this is an unedited proof or anything like that). The book is full of run-ons and poorly composed sentences. The dialogue was often just filler and had little or no subtext.

I found a lot of what happened to be completely unbelievable, especially beginning with the chapter called, “Explosions.” Just so unbelievable. It comes across as if a high schooler actually wrote it. The problems - the SERIOUS problems - that these teenagers encountered are all just sort of glossed over at the end.

Oh, and the entire subplot about the relationship between two teachers that only takes up about ten percent of the book? Like, why?? What’s the point of even introducing those characters? That was a strange decision.

On a personal note, I read one of the author’s blog entries, wherein she says that she’s “sad at the fact that Generation Z learn about sex and relationships from watching pornography, with its debasement of what should be the most exciting and beautiful experience between two human beings.” For starters, basically every generation has learned about sex from pornography, whether it’s webcams on the internet, movies on Cinemax, or magazines stashed in your uncle’s basement. What generation hasn’t come across that sort of thing and explored it? Attacking technology is just an easy way out instead of lobbying for comprehensive sex education and parenting proactively. In addition to that, there are many, many couples who have healthy relationships that include watching pornography, and to paint it all with the same brush is, at best, ignorant, and at worst, dangerous. This attitude towards pornography is only going to alienate teenagers who have incorporated it safely into their sex lives, and make them feel needlessly ashamed and embarrassed.

I wish that this book had been better. I feel that the author started out with a good idea before it turned into a sex manual for teenagers. I'd also suggest a new editor.… (más)