The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols
Synopsis: Gemma can't believe her luck when the star football player starts flirting with her. Max is totally swoon-worthy, and even gets her quirky sense of humor. So when he asks out her so-called best friend Addison, Gemma's heartbroken.
Then Addison pressures Gemma to join the date with one of Max's friends. But the more time they all spend together, the harder Gemma falls for Max. She can't help thinking that Max likes her back--it's just too bad he's already dating Addison. How can Gemma get the guy she wants without going after her best friend's boyfriend? (From Goodreads)
This book is everything that is great about crushes. You know those consuming, over-analytical, wonderfully exciting crushes that only come around every once in awhile. I'm not talking about the ones where you think he's cute and maybe you could like him, but the ones that make you think, This is it. This is THE ONE. And even while your heart is telling you that this is the end-all, your mind has doubts and goes into overdrive - which, really, just fuels the obsession.
Reading this book was like transporting back to high school. This is what high school is like - no matter what group you were lumped into. This somehow covers any aspect I can think of - from the band geeks (I say "geek" lovingly) to the football players, the popular girls to the girls who don't feel like they don't fit in anywhere. I loved Gemma who was in the middle of this incredible transformation of going from an insecure overweight girl into an insecure skinny girl. But, the way that she grew as an individual through the book book was empowering.
Her best friend, Addison, was, just, ugh, guh-urrrr. Every word out of her mouth made me want to smack her (and I'm not generally a violent person). While I give Addison credit for pulling Gemma along in situations she would have been too timid to get into, she was still a horrible person. But then, to balance her out, there's Max. Who's the perfect crush - unique, quirky, hot, a little awkward, candid, and completely sweet. He never felt like a cookie-cutter football player and he was never made out to be the ultimate boy. It was one of those - perfect when he's with the right girl - situations. So adorable.
Jennifer Echols is easily one of my favorite authors of contemporary fiction. She just has a knack for making her stories and characters feel so real - whether they're darker and gritty or light and cute. One of my favorite novels ever is Going Too Far and while The One I Want doesn't quite reach to those heights, it's still a great and fun read. I definitely recommend it for contemporary fans and for anyone who wants a great love story to read around Valentine's Day. The paperback is out today (February 7th) so go pick up a copy!
The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols
Synopsis: Gemma can't believe her luck when the star football player starts flirting with her. Max is totally swoon-worthy, and even gets her quirky sense of humor. So when he asks out her so-called best friend Addison, Gemma's heartbroken.
Then Addison pressures Gemma to join the date with one of Max's friends. But the more time they all spend together, the harder Gemma falls for Max. She can't help thinking that Max likes her back--it's just too bad he's already dating Addison. How can Gemma get the guy she wants without going after her best friend's boyfriend? (From Goodreads)
This book is everything that is great about crushes. You know those consuming, over-analytical, wonderfully exciting crushes that only come around every once in awhile. I'm not talking about the ones where you think he's cute and maybe you could like him, but the ones that make you think, This is it. This is THE ONE. And even while your heart is telling you that this is the end-all, your mind has doubts and goes into overdrive - which, really, just fuels the obsession.
Reading this book was like transporting back to high school. This is what high school is like - no matter what group you were lumped into. This somehow covers any aspect I can think of - from the band geeks (I say "geek" lovingly) to the football players, the popular girls to the girls who don't feel like they don't fit in anywhere. I loved Gemma who was in the middle of this incredible transformation of going from an insecure overweight girl into an insecure skinny girl. But, the way that she grew as an individual through the book book was empowering.
Her best friend, Addison, was, just, ugh, guh-urrrr. Every word out of her mouth made me want to smack her (and I'm not generally a violent person). While I give Addison credit for pulling Gemma along in situations she would have been too timid to get into, she was still a horrible person. But then, to balance her out, there's Max. Who's the perfect crush - unique, quirky, hot, a little awkward, candid, and completely sweet. He never felt like a cookie-cutter football player and he was never made out to be the ultimate boy. It was one of those - perfect when he's with the right girl - situations. So adorable.
Jennifer Echols is easily one of my favorite authors of contemporary fiction. She just has a knack for making her stories and characters feel so real - whether they're darker and gritty or light and cute. One of my favorite novels ever is Going Too Far and while The One I Want doesn't quite reach to those heights, it's still a great and fun read. I definitely recommend it for contemporary fans and for anyone who wants a great love story to read around Valentine's Day. The paperback is out today (February 7th) so go pick up a copy!
