Saturday, March 30, 2013

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti (a quick review!)

Title/Author: Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: August 30, 2005
Buy It: Amazon / Book Depository

     "Right away I got that Something About To Happen feeling. Right away I knew he was bad, and that it didn't matter."

     It is summer in the Northwest town of Nine Mile Falls, and sixteen-year-old Ruby McQueen, ordinarily dubbed The Quiet Girl, finds herself hanging out with gorgeous, rich, thrill-seeking Travis Becker. But Ruby is in over her head, and finds she is risking more and more when she's with him.

     In an effort to keep Ruby occupied, Ruby's mother Ann drags Ruby to the weekly book club she runs. When it is discovered that one of the group's own members is the subject of a tragic love story they are reading, Ann and Ruby spearhead a reunion between the long-ago lovers. But for Ruby, the mission turns out to be more than just a road trip...

     Sometimes you do things even when you know they're bad for you. Sometimes you step outside yourself a little in order to see yourself, and who you are, more clearly. This story about Ruby McQueen, her relationship with the so-wrong-for-her Travis Becker, and an impromptu road trip and kidnapping that is the true love story of the novel is so complex and honest that I would lay odds that any girl will be able to relate to it.

    This book is filled with wisdom, ridiculousness, humor, love, sadness and heartbreak, and the most interesting book club ever. This is my second Deb Caletti novel, and she once again manages to inject poignancy, grace, and beauty into a unique story about a teenage girl trying to find out who she is.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"A man's identity is complete through action, a woman's, when she has  a man. Through him. We fall off our high heels into the narrow crevasse of what it means to be female. Let me tell you. You fall in love and you think you're finding yourself. But too often you're looking inside him for you, and that's a fact. There's only one place you can find yourself." She thumped her chest.

1 comment:

  1. I just got into a contemporary mood myself, which is why I picked this one up. I read The Six Rules of Maybe (same author) and loved it so I figured I'd give this one a shot. Any other contemporary authors you'd recommend? It's not a genre I spend a lot of time with...

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