Review: Ten Things We Did

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by: Sarah Mlynowski
Series: N/A
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pub Date: June 7th 2011
E-Book
368 pgs

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house - parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have. 

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year , April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart... on thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time. 

 This was a perfect quick read. It was extremely entertaining and hard to put down. I finished it in just two short days!! I found myself giggling out loud, fighting back tears and cheering April on as she found herself. The story is constantly bouncing between was is currently happening and some event in her life that she is referencing at that point. At first I found this slightly confusing but soon I relished it. It made the book sound like a story I would tell about my life, in which I would pause to explain something then jump back in. It made the story fresh and different and kept my attention. It is also a very good story about a girl finding herself and dealing with parental issues. As a child of divorced parents, and of parents who at times were very self centered, I really related to the book and felt like it was very realistic.

This is a stand alone novel. Yet another reason it may have been so refreshing. I have loads of series that I want to start or are in the midst of. Sarah Mlynowski does have several other novels including a series that may be very cute called Magic in Manhattan. I may try them someday but they are not moving to the top of this girls expansive TBR.

Happy Reading!