{Review} All I Need by Susane Colasanti
12:00 AM
Number of Pgs.: 240
Publication date: May 21, 2013
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Genre: YA, Contemporary
How I got the copy: Won from April
Rating: 2 Stars
From Goodreads:
The last night of summer is only the beginning.Skye wants to meet the boy who will change her life forever. Seth feels their instant connection the second he sees her. When Seth starts talking to Skye at the last beach party of the summer, it’s obvious to both of them that this is something real. But when Seth leaves for college before they exchange contact info, Skye wonders if he felt the same way she did—and if she will ever see him again. Even if they find their way back to each other, can they make a long-distance relationship work despite trust issues, ex drama, and some serious background differences?
Teen favorite Susane Colasanti returns to the alternating-voice style of her beloved debut When It Happens in this Serendipity-inspired story about summer, soul mates, and the moments that change our lives forever.
Plot: 3/10
Characters: 3/10
Setting: 4/10
Pacing: 3/10
Style: 1/10
Cover: I loved this cover right away. The beach, the way he's lifting her up, the bright green, the font, etc. It's such a beautiful cover.
The cover of this book is so misleading it made me kind of mad. Since the summary was kind of vague I was expecting an epic summer romance between two strangers based on the cover models. What I got was something completely and unsatisfyingly different. It was like Harry expecting a butter beer flavored Bertie Botts every flavored bean and getting earwax instead. So what was so bleh about it?
There is insta-love. The kind where the characters lock eyes and declare that they will love that person as long as they both shall live. This drives me nuts. And while I expected a romance, I didn't want it to be that quick.
The characters are also whiny. Seth is pretty emo and it was hard to find that attractive. He's constantly in distress over a girl. He doesn't eat, sleep, shower, etc. Skye is passive aggressive with her friends and family. She is constantly whining that Seth doesn't understand her, yet she's convinced he's the one. Her friends are reallllly annoying too. Basically, there wasn't a single character in this book that I could connect with or enjoy. I love reading YA, but I think this may be one of those few cases where being six years older than the characters hindered my reading experience. Their petty fights and minuscule problems were hard for me to care about.
Lastly, I felt like the writing was really simple and the plot was all over the place. It was a lot of telling and hardly any showing. Here's an example,
But you get the picture. I wanted her to describe their walk. What are they seeing, smelling, hearing? Describe how they're cold instead of telling me they're wearing jackets. And the plot skips around a lot with random scenes like this and it all felt very choppy. I feel mean writing that last paragraph, but I don't want to lie. The writing didn't work for me.
There is insta-love. The kind where the characters lock eyes and declare that they will love that person as long as they both shall live. This drives me nuts. And while I expected a romance, I didn't want it to be that quick.
The characters are also whiny. Seth is pretty emo and it was hard to find that attractive. He's constantly in distress over a girl. He doesn't eat, sleep, shower, etc. Skye is passive aggressive with her friends and family. She is constantly whining that Seth doesn't understand her, yet she's convinced he's the one. Her friends are reallllly annoying too. Basically, there wasn't a single character in this book that I could connect with or enjoy. I love reading YA, but I think this may be one of those few cases where being six years older than the characters hindered my reading experience. Their petty fights and minuscule problems were hard for me to care about.
Lastly, I felt like the writing was really simple and the plot was all over the place. It was a lot of telling and hardly any showing. Here's an example,
"The four of us are going to Diner on the Square for dinner. Karen, Astor, and I are all packed into our winter gear for the walk down to Center City. Grant has on the same jacket he's worn since the fall. He's not even wearing a hat."
(This quote is from an ARC and may appear differently in a finished copy).
But you get the picture. I wanted her to describe their walk. What are they seeing, smelling, hearing? Describe how they're cold instead of telling me they're wearing jackets. And the plot skips around a lot with random scenes like this and it all felt very choppy. I feel mean writing that last paragraph, but I don't want to lie. The writing didn't work for me.
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