Flat-Out Love

TITLE: Flat-Out Love
AUTHOR: Jessica Parks
PUBLISHER: Jessica Parks
RELEASE DATE: April 11, 2011
PRINT PAGES: 402
SUMMARY (from Goodreads):

MY REVIEW:
I would give this book 5 Stars! I really fell in love with this book. First off, the character development is great. Starting with Julie, she is the type of girl every girl wants to be. Someone who is fairly independent, not turned off by quirky people and has a helpful spirit. Julie really drives this story. As she dives deeper into her relationship with the Watkins family we, as readers, dive right along with her. Matt is like the knight in shining armor. He really is one of those characters you love so much. You will begin to think about him as a real person because you just wish that more people in the world were like him. His relationship with Julie is so carefree and his relationship with his sister Celeste is so sweet. Celeste is bizarre in an endearing way that you can't help but like her too. Ms. Parks did an exceptional job of pulling you into this slightly off household. 


The secret of the Watkins family is the crux of the story. It is hinted at in many scenes but it isn't a distracting element even though it is not explained until the end. I felt like the mystery part helped move the story along but didn't bother me at all that it wasn't revealed until much later. If you figure it out early OR if you have no clue until it is clearly spelled out within the pages of the book you will be entertained throughout. This book has romance, mystery, heartbreak and hope all in one! 


I read this book in two days because I could not put it down. I loved that I felt completely vulnerable along with the characters. When Julie was confused as to why the family handled Celeste's quirks the way they did, I was confused. When Matt became irritated and angry, I was irritated and angry. When Celeste was scared and anxious, I was scared and anxious. I cannot remember the last time I connected so emotionally with a book. I recommend this book to anyone. I think that everyone can identify to one of the characters or situations presented. I think I learned to be a more tolerant and understanding person after reading this book, even though it is a work of fiction. I just have to say, it was a great, great read. I am confident I will read it again.  




Leslie  

Inaugural Post

Hello Blogosphere!


Today is the first post on abook&abubblebath! I am very excited to start sharing my book reviews with the internet (or at least my husband and friends who might be the only people who ever read my reviews). Since I am new at this, it might take me a few tries to get it right but bear with me.


I have always been a reader. I remember when I was in elementary school some of my favorite days were when a new Scholastic book order form got handed out. I would circle about 75% of the order form with my "wants" and luckily, my parents would oblige and buy a couple of them. I would then wait on tenterhooks for when the books arrived. I specifically remember waiting for the boxed set of Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (which I still have) and knowing that I would devote all of my time to reading those books (and I did). They quickly became my favorite books. 

If you can't picture my nerdiness yet, this should surely do it...many times during my elementary school years I would hide in the coat closet among my classmates backpacks, snow boots, and winter parkas and read books when everyone was at recess! I was just that kid who preferred the company of literary characters to monkey bars and Red Rover.


Now, I am grown up (well, sorta), and still just love to immerse myself in a world of fantasy (or in the case of travel memoirs of the people who get to go all over the world). I hope that in this blog I can point any interested parties to some books that I find really, really good or help them steer clear of those that could potentially be a waste of time. I understand that everyone likes or dislikes different things. If you find that you agree with a lot of my reviews, I think we will make great friends. If you think I have a screw loose based on my thoughts of particular books, then we will probably still make great friends! So, come along with me and let's see how this blogging thing pans out...



Leslie