Jordanna Fraiberg

Olive's carefully constructed life comes crashing down in the wake of an accident that should have, and almost, left her dead. For the first time she is forced—against her Martha Stewart-mother's will—to face imperfection, to face flaws, and it is only when she finally admits to them, she begins to see clearly who the ones that love her are, and just how special a place they hold.

Olive doesn't want to satisfy the expectations of her mother—the mother who prunes her social circle as she prunes her petunias—and realizes she needs to escape the suffocating grasp of Vista Valley, where she hasn't ventured more than a hundred miles past since she was born, all the more. Enter: Nick, a brooding, devastating British bad boy with a penchant for spontaneity and a wicked, wicked smile. And suddenly, Olive is free. Olive is happy. And if she allows herself to, Olive just might find what she's looking for...

Simply put, Our Song is a sweet, coming-of-age YA romance—nothing riveting, but accurately tender in some parts and emotive of teenage angst, insecurity, and heartache in others. There are so many different issues raised in this teen novel, including friendship, rebellion, sexuality, dating danger(ously handsome boys...), the aftermath of a near-death, and of course, Olive's haunting song. They're all great topics, but I was disappointed by how none of them are fully explored, just sort of dabbled in, and then neglected. They do have proper ties at the end of the book, but it's like the author introduced these great plot points, ignored them, and then brought them back up in the closing chapters just to form a clean conclusion.

I had a bit of an issue with Olive. It's not that she's difficult to sympathize with—in fact, I'd say her frustrations and hard-headed determination are easy to relate to—but she just isn't portrayed in a very likable light; through the story's progression, she grows and realizes her mistakes and, as with most young adult novels, she learns from them, but her general attitude towards her friends and naïve ignorance of her surroundings makes her a hard character to grow on. This was mainly a problem for me since she narrates the story first-person; whenever I got annoyed with her, I was still stuck with her because we only ever get to see through her (narrow) perspective.

Nick, on the other hand... I could use a guy like him in my life! He's wonderfully portrayed (let's not kid anyone here, I had a big-time swoon-fest while reading about him), but poorly developed. As a person he seems wonderful and charming and BRITISH♥ but as a book character, he's too quick in his affections for Olive—making him rather unrealistic—and two-dimensional. I thought his troubling past would really add depth to him, but there's really no suspense nor a huge bang leading up to his "dark" secret... it's just suddenly revealed, which was not only anticlimactic, but also further weakened his character.

Fraiberg is a storyteller at heart and really knows how to integrate the protagonist's point of view into the novel. Stylistically, Our Song is straightforward and contemporary in tone; this could be your own diary.

Pros: Great voice // Fraiberg captures teen spirit perfectly // Authentic depiction of high school horrors // I want Annie as my best friend! // Story moves quickly and smoothly; constantly left me wanting more // Evocative of Los Angeles and surrounding areas // Clean, chaste romance

Cons: Olive is rather bratty // As much as I loved Nick, he isn't anything special... mostly because he's underdeveloped as a character and because his big dark "secret" is too hurried at the end // Olive's romance with Nick, mysterious song, emotional healing, and coming-to-terms with self are all a bit disjointed

Verdict: Jordanna Fraiberg's newest novel is a fast-moving account of Olive's post-tragedy struggles that touches upon the pain of heartbreak, the true meaning of love and companionship, and the importance of accepting second chances. As heavy as the topics of this book are, the story itself doesn't go too deeply into them, so for the most part, this was a light, undemanding read—although it does have its share of bleak, depressing notes. I was disappointed by the lack of complexity and weightier content, but still enjoyed Our Song regardless. This is a fun, believable, and ultimately touching book, and simultaneously a fantastic addition to the YA and middle-grade genres.

Rating: 7 out of 10 hearts (4 stars): Not perfect, but overall enjoyable.

Source: Complimentary ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review for the Itching for Books virtual book tour (thank you!).… (més)

This book? Five kinds of adorable.

I loved Molly and Charlie. They were both sweet and fun characters. I loved how much they changed while they were spending time in each others rooms. Both were kind of single minded with this is what I like and I can't believe I'm leaving it for a summer thinking. But they spent a summer talking and learning and having new experiences and they came out better for it.

I loved their relationship too. It was honest and real and their looks honestly didn't matter and I thought that was wonderful. How many times do we read a book and hear about how attractive the love interest is? Isn't that always how the relationship starts? Well that wasn't an option in this book, which made it immediately stand out.

Charlie and Molly also had some family/personal problems that were touched on, too. That kinda balance is always good, you know?

I know this is a pretty crappy endorsement, but I read this in February, so it's kind of blurry in my memory. I DO know that I loved this book a whole lot and y'all should pick it up.… (més)