Published
by Balzer + Bray (2013)
Hardcover
389 pages
Buy your own
Amazon
Book Depository
Ratings
Content: ★★★
Cover:★★★★
Summary
Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated-and pregnant-Reena behind.
After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?
by Balzer + Bray (2013)
Hardcover
389 pages
Buy your own
Amazon
Book Depository
Ratings
Content: ★★★
Cover:★★★★
Summary
Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated-and pregnant-Reena behind.
After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?
I went into this book expecting to love it; sadly, I was disappointed. Although perhaps that is because my expectations were too high, I think it just was not the book for me. For that reason, don't take my rating too seriously. You might not even care about the things that bothered me.
What I liked:
I applaud the author for writing about a topic so rarely covered in YA fiction. She did a great job at portraying each character and how they were affected by teenage pregnancy. I love that nobody ever blames the baby, Hannah, for the negative side effects of her conception (e.g. mom cannot go away to college). Reena is very present in her life and always puts her first, and everybody treats her well.
The main character, Reena, looses the chance of her lifetime due to her pregnancy. Instead of heading off to college and following her dreams, she stays in her hometown with the family that had not forgiven her for throwing away her future. Although she is bitter about it, she never blames her daughter for it, ignores her, or takes it out on her.
Reena's best friend is very supportive and responds to what happens throughout the book in a very realistic, yet still understanding way. Cotugno handles the LGTB aspect beautifully, paying it the right amount of attention and choosing the wording carefully, especially since many characters are very catholic.
Reena's boyfriend at the beginning of the novel (present-time), Aaron, is also a great character. He treats her well and never expects her to ignore her baby. I just wish he had had a more prominent role in the story.
Lastly, I love Soledad, Reena's step-mother. They have a very realistic mother-daughter relationship. It is obvious that she truly cares for her husband and his well-being, as well as loving Reena and her baby.
The writing in this book is absorbing. Reena has a very powerful and vivid voice that manages to bring the characters and situations to life despite my complaints below. Cotugno tackles teenage pregnancy, religion, drug use, death, and family disputes in an engaging style and without judging, but never making light of the problems.
What I disliked:
The narration style just does not do it for me. I hated going back and forth from Reena's perspective before the pregnancy to Reena's perspective after having the baby every chapter. I hated the cliff hangers that you would have to wait a whole chapter to get the answers to. I hated that just when I was getting into one of the stories, it would get cut off in favor of the other one. It made it harder for me to get into the story, and even annoyed me a bit.
I think another reason why this negatively affected my reading experience is because I disliked Sawyer and liked Reena in the "Before", but disliked Reena and liked Sawyer in the "After". Of course, I did not fully dislike or like either of them at any point, but certain qualities annoyed me sometimes. It was hard to get invested in a character when I liked them one chapter and disliked them the next.
I also really dislike Reena and Sawyer's love story. First of all, there is no real reason why they even like each other; they just do. Their relationship is more obsession than love. The author simply did not manage to make me root for them, and I found myself constantly hoping Reena would open her eyes and realize she was making the same mistakes all over again.
In addition, I hated the role Reena's old bestfriend, Allie, played in the story. I hated the cheating, and the finger pointing, and Reena's response to their fight. I truly think that it was unnecessary in the novel, and that everything it added to the story were things I disliked about the book.
How to Love is a great novel, it just mightn't be the novel for you. It could, however, still be worth the read for its style and point of view.
Have you read How to Love? Did you like or dislike it?
What I liked:
I applaud the author for writing about a topic so rarely covered in YA fiction. She did a great job at portraying each character and how they were affected by teenage pregnancy. I love that nobody ever blames the baby, Hannah, for the negative side effects of her conception (e.g. mom cannot go away to college). Reena is very present in her life and always puts her first, and everybody treats her well.
The main character, Reena, looses the chance of her lifetime due to her pregnancy. Instead of heading off to college and following her dreams, she stays in her hometown with the family that had not forgiven her for throwing away her future. Although she is bitter about it, she never blames her daughter for it, ignores her, or takes it out on her.
Reena's best friend is very supportive and responds to what happens throughout the book in a very realistic, yet still understanding way. Cotugno handles the LGTB aspect beautifully, paying it the right amount of attention and choosing the wording carefully, especially since many characters are very catholic.
Reena's boyfriend at the beginning of the novel (present-time), Aaron, is also a great character. He treats her well and never expects her to ignore her baby. I just wish he had had a more prominent role in the story.
Lastly, I love Soledad, Reena's step-mother. They have a very realistic mother-daughter relationship. It is obvious that she truly cares for her husband and his well-being, as well as loving Reena and her baby.
The writing in this book is absorbing. Reena has a very powerful and vivid voice that manages to bring the characters and situations to life despite my complaints below. Cotugno tackles teenage pregnancy, religion, drug use, death, and family disputes in an engaging style and without judging, but never making light of the problems.
What I disliked:
The narration style just does not do it for me. I hated going back and forth from Reena's perspective before the pregnancy to Reena's perspective after having the baby every chapter. I hated the cliff hangers that you would have to wait a whole chapter to get the answers to. I hated that just when I was getting into one of the stories, it would get cut off in favor of the other one. It made it harder for me to get into the story, and even annoyed me a bit.
I think another reason why this negatively affected my reading experience is because I disliked Sawyer and liked Reena in the "Before", but disliked Reena and liked Sawyer in the "After". Of course, I did not fully dislike or like either of them at any point, but certain qualities annoyed me sometimes. It was hard to get invested in a character when I liked them one chapter and disliked them the next.
I also really dislike Reena and Sawyer's love story. First of all, there is no real reason why they even like each other; they just do. Their relationship is more obsession than love. The author simply did not manage to make me root for them, and I found myself constantly hoping Reena would open her eyes and realize she was making the same mistakes all over again.
In addition, I hated the role Reena's old bestfriend, Allie, played in the story. I hated the cheating, and the finger pointing, and Reena's response to their fight. I truly think that it was unnecessary in the novel, and that everything it added to the story were things I disliked about the book.
How to Love is a great novel, it just mightn't be the novel for you. It could, however, still be worth the read for its style and point of view.
Have you read How to Love? Did you like or dislike it?