Something, Maybe

Scott, Elizabeth. 2009. Something, Maybe. Simon & Schuster. Pub. March 2009. 224 pages.

Everyone's seen my mother naked.

Our heroine, Hannah, sure has embarrassing parents: between her dad, Jackson James*, and her mom, Candy Madison**, it's no wonder Hannah seeks a life of invisibility. Hannah prefers her "boring" life to the more notorious life she could be leading...if she followed in her parents' footsteps. And on the surface, Hannah's life is lacking a little in the social department. Her time being split between home, school, and work. The novel focuses in particular on her work environment, BurgerTown, and two of her coworkers--Josh and Finn. Hannah has a crush--make that crush--on Josh, a boy with a girlfriend, coffee habit, and 'reputation' for writing poetry and being 'all sensitive' and stuff. Finn, on the other hand, strikes Hannah as being more of a pain in the you-know-where. Though the reader can clearly see that Finn is the better of the two: he's down-to-earth and genuine. Hannah does attend school with both Josh and Finn, but she doesn't really speak to either outside of work. And she hardly speaks to anyone at school anyway. Her only confidante being a girl named Teagan.

The novel equally focuses on the developing relationships (romantic) in her life--Josh and Finn--and on her own topsy-turvy relationship with her parents. Hannah has a good amount of angst: she's still grieving the death of her stepdad Jose***; still bitter over how her last visit with her dad ended****; still hurt that he hasn't tried to contact her in around five years; embarrassed over her mother's lack of clothes; and frustrated that her mom won't talk about Jose even after all these years; she feels alone. ALONE. Alone and misunderstood. I loved her increasing vulnerability, her willingness to finally be open and true to herself, to life, to love.

And to be honest, I just loved Finn. I did. It was satisfying to read their story. It's a romance, yes, but it has heart and soul too. I haven't decided how this Scott novel compares with her previous works: Bloom, Perfect You, Stealing Heaven, Living Dead Girl.

*"Founder of jacksonjamesonline.com, the home of JJ's Girls, and current star of JJ: Dreamworld. He's 72, acts like he's 22, and once upon a time Mom had a child with him."(5)
**Her mom is "famous" for her Superbowl commercial--naked lady with a pizza box--and for briefly starring in a cheesy sitcom, "Cowboy Dad," but she now makes her living from doing live chats on the internet wearing lingerie.
*** whom she lost when she was twelve
****or how it ended up broadcast on her dad's show, how it was edited to make her look like a freak.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews