Saturday, August 23, 2008

Audrey, Wait


Benway, Robin. 2008. Audrey, Wait.
"The day I broke up with my boyfriend Evan was the day he wrote the song. You know, the song. I'm sure you've heard it. Maybe you danced to it at prom or sang it in your car on a Friday night when you were driving and feeling like you must be inhuman to be this happy, the windows down and nothing but air around you. Your mom has probably hummed it while cleaning the dryer's lint trap, and your grandpa has most likely whistled a couple bars. If he's the whistling type.
According to the poll on the front page of USA Today, sixty-three percent of Americans blame me for the breakup, so let me clear the air right now: they're right. Sixty-three percent of Americans are no fools when it comes to knowing about my love life, which is really creepy and isn't helping me sleep well. But it's true: I broke up with Evan, and eight hours later, he had a song in his head, and a guitar in his hand and it snowballed from there." (1)*
This one had me at hello. Talk about a good hook. This beginning is as catchy as the fictional "Audrey, Wait" song is reported to be. Our heroine, Audrey Cuttler was a typical teen girl. A junior in high school. An employee of the Scooper Dooper icecream shoppe in the mall. The third wheel to her best friends Victoria and Jonah, the "perfect" couple. That was before.

Since her ex-boyfriend wrote a song about her, about their break up, Audrey's life hasn't been the same. Not all the changes are bad, but most--if not all--take some getting used to. Instant fame--especially unwanted instant fame--isn't what Audrey ever wanted. She doesn't want to be the new "IT" girl. Now Audrey's life is turned upside down and inside out. Nothing makes sense--not school, not work, not her family at home, and especially not her social life.

This book is fun. Really fun. And it's a quick read.

Other reviews: Interactive Reader, Teen Book Review, Rocket Girls, Hope's Bookshelf, The YA YA YAs, A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy, Kinsmen of the Shelf, Reviewer X, KarinLibrarian, Like OMG Teens Read, The Book Reader, Book Candy, Jen Robinson, Liv's Book Reviews, The Inkblotter, The Compulsive Reader, Meg Cabot, Patchwork of Books.


http://www.audreywait.com/

*Quote taken from ARC, so it may not match the final published edition of the novel.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great review!