From Amazon.com...
"WHAT DO YOU DO IF THE GUY OF YOUR DREAMS IS SOMEBODY ELSE’S BOYFRIEND?
Taryn has found the perfect guy. Epp is tall, athletic, handsome, and best of all, she is sure he likes her, too. There’s only one problem: He’s dating someone else. But when Taryn becomes friends with Epp’s beautiful girlfriend, Isabelle, her life begins to change. New friends, movie dates, and a first kiss—life couldn’t get any better, could it? Except that Epp is still Isabelle’s boyfriend. Girls will relate to Taryn’s sincerity and humor as she tries to balance family, friendship, and, of course, romance."
I have mixed feelings about this book.
Taryn is a believable character, but I wouldn't say I necessarily liked her or was able to relate to her. She's a very pliable character and extremely easy to manipulate.
(SLIGHT spoiler) Her relationship with Epp is extremely manipulated by Hickey in that throughout the whole novel certain feelings (on Epp's part) are continually implied and obvious, the end of the novel was disappointing because I felt purposefully misled and lied too.
I found every part of the novel mentioning the dog, Camille, to be overdone; she was continually mentioned and there really wasn't a purpose for it. Now, had the relationship between Taryn and her mother been more of a focal point — I could see the dog's importance. But this relationship, while hinted on, wasn't really developed or focused on until the last couple chapters. As a result, the dog being continually mentioned was almost awkward and completely unnecessary.
Lila's character, while annoying, was believable. I also like Isabelle. My best friend is often regarded as a snot by her female peers because of her confidence, beauty, and intelligence. It's always interesting what jealousy and insecurity can do to the female race. I was also able to relate to Pete — he was a believable adolescent character. Epp, on the other hand, was poorly developed and vague (in my opinion). Readers only know him by the false misleading information provided by Taryn's observations. For no reason at all, he's a completely different person at the end of the novel than he was at the beginning. As for Taryn's mom, I felt for her — really. But I felt the Hickey may have had too many themes going on. If divorce was meant to be a bigger theme of the novel, there should have been more time devoted to it, rather than tacking it on at the end.
To the book's credit, the last three chapters had my heart racing, but it came up short. I feel like Hickey was afraid to have Taryn deal with the consequences of her actions. I don't feel like Taryn, as a character, grew as a result of her experiences. Character growth in novels is extremely important, otherwise what is the point?
The book was okay; it didn't bring me in until the end and then it had an anticlimactic ending. A light read, I think this book would be better suited to younger female readers who could relate to the immaturity of the characters and who aren't necessarily looking for character growth.
I will not be purchasing this book for my classroom and, if I had to, I would only recommend this novel to seventh or eighth graders.