Name: So Much Closer
Author: Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Viking Juvenile/Speak (US)
Release Date: April 12, 2011
Pages: 236, Paperback
Source: Online Library
Rating: 3.5 Teacups
When Brooke's crush, Scott, moves from their suburban town to New York City, she decides to follow him there. Living with her formerly estranged dad and adapting to a new school are challenging, and things go from bad to worse when Brooke learns that Scott already has a girlfriend. But as she builds her new life, Brooke begins to discover a side of herself she never knew existed. And as she finds out, in the city that never sleeps, love can appear around any corner...
Jen's Review
I'm not even going
to beat around the bush, I'll just be upfront about it: I have no idea why I
picked this one up in the first place. I had heard of Colasanti's books
previously, but not necessarily very good
things. I never really had any compulsion to pick up one of her books.
Nonetheless, here I am, letting you know my thoughts on it. Luckily, I was
totally in the contemporary, cute & fluffy mood when I picked this one up,
and I ended up really enjoying it. So Much Closer was super fun and light, but
had it's problems, for sure.
Right after I read
the synopsis, I knew I had to read the
book. I mean, the plot sounds so entirely weird and creepy--a girl moves to New
York just for a boy that doesn't even
know she exists? Doesn't that sound like a downright stalker to you? It had
that effect on me and I kind of wanted to know what would happen for these
characters. Brooke, the (stalker) girl, did start out as an obsessive, crazy
girl that was blinded by her love for Scott. However, she was not this shallow
girl the entire time. Her time in New York and her making of new friends helped
change the naïve person she was before into a more thoughtful person. I'm glad
with the choices she made in the end.
Other than the fact
that the character growth was enjoyable, some of the side characters were very
under-developed, or simply didn't make any sense. For example, when Brooke
moves to New York, she moves in with her dad. Her father was so uninvolved with
Brooke's life that it was a little ridiculous. It was a bit unrealistic in my taste. Another
character that was mind-boggling was Scott, the boy that Brooke was obsessed
with in the beginning. Scott was portrayed as such a perfect boy, but I never
grew to understand him, or like him for that matter. Scott was kind of
impulsive, dumb, even. These two male characters really brought it down a notch
for me in So Much Closer.
Aside from my
love-hate relationship with the characters, So Much Closer definitely had an
entertaining plot. I found myself wanting to read more and learn what happens
with Brooke's relationships and how she finds her future in New York. It was
really quite addicting to read about, in truth.
So Much Closer
turned out to be a successful read for me. Even while some of the characters
bothered me to no end, Brooke's character growth and entertaining plot line
really helped me enjoy the novel much more than I expected prior to reading the
book. I will definitely be picking up more of
Colasanti's work. Consider me a fan!
3.5 Teacups for So Much Closer!
Posts
I like when a book ends up being great when we have no expectations of it :) This sounds like a sweet coming of age story.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like the TV series Felicity. The guy Felicity follows to NY is Ben, played by SCOTT Speedman! Lol, coincidence! I don't know if I'd enjoy this because the characters seemed to bug you, Jen. I have such little patience for frustrating characters lately. Glad you enjoyed this overall. Great review. :)
ReplyDeleteSo Much Closer sounds like such a cute read Jen! I've only read one book by Colasanti before which was a bit more serious and hard hitting. But I definitely think I will have to get to the rest of her books including this when I'm in the mood for something light and fluffy. I also really enjoy books which show brilliant character development. So I have a feeling I may enjoy this one too! Lovely review Jen! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of Susane's books but i'm a huge contemporary junkie and this sounds like my cup of tea. Great review!
ReplyDelete- Ellie at The Selkie Reads Stories
I've heard of this author, just not this novel, but I'm glad you enjoyed it as a whole. I know the underdeveloped characters would grate on me much more than others, so I doubt I'll pick this up, but I can hopefully read something of this authors soon. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that some of the secondary characters weren't fully developed, but I'm glad you enjoyed this one overall. I haven't read anything by this author before, but I like the sound of this book. Great review, Jen! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review! This book sounds good and I haven't heard of it before. I really like contemporary books but I don't read enough so I'll have to look out for this one. It is a shame that some parts seemed slightly unrealistic - it is annoying when that happens :/ Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteLove the review! I actually wondered about reading this but thought it was too weird, but I'm glad it was successful for you! I don't like unrealistic books and I'll probably not like the characters BUT it still sounds very fun. Thanks for the review :)
ReplyDeleteSunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf
I'm not really sure I like this book from the summary because it sounds a bit like the main character is a stalker. I don't know why!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it though, although I can see why unrealistic happenings and under-developed characters would annoy you because it would irritate me as well. Lovely review! :)
Oh, wow, I only ever read one book by Susane Colasanti but I really liked her writing style. You're right, moving to New York for a boy who doesn't even know her is super creepy and stalkerish, but I'm glad you enjoyed it in the end despite a few misgivings. I've been meaning to read another one of Susane's books. Perhaps I'll give this one a try.
ReplyDeleteLovely review, Jen!