This Ordinary Life by Jennifer Walkup (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by Luminis Books on October 1st 2015
Genres: Girls & Women, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 240
Format: ARC
A teen struggles to hold her family together while dealing with her brother's epilepsy and her mother's alcoholism High-school radio host Jasmine Torres's life is full of family dysfunction, but if she can score the internship of her dreams with a New York City radio station, she knows she can turn things around. That is, until her brother Danny's latest seizure forces her to miss the interview, and she's back to the endless loop of missing school for his doctor appointments, picking up the pieces of her mother's booze-soaked life, and stressing about Danny's future. Then she meets Wes. He's the perfect combination of smart, cute, and funny. He also happens to have epilepsy like her brother. Wes is living a normal life despite his medical issues, which gives Jasmine hope for Danny. But memories of her cheating ex-boyfriend keep Jasmine from going on a real date with Wes, no matter how many times he asks her. Jasmine can't control everything, not who wins the internship, not her mother's addiction, not her brother's health, not even where her heart will lead her. She wishes she could just have an ordinary life, but Jasmine may just discover that what she already has is pretty extraordinary after all.
Jasmine has more on her plate than the normal high school senior. With a mom who’s barely functioning, she’s tasked with making sure her brother, who suffers from epilepsy, is safe and cared for. Taking on the day to day care for a young boy with medical issues is hard enough for an adult, but Jasmine is also working her way through high school, dealing with a crappy ex-boyfriend and trying to get the internship of her dreams.
While I found myself sympathizing with Jasmine, I don’t think I really connected with her the way I would have liked with a story like this. There is a lot of emotional stuff going on… of course it seems to start with a cheating boyfriend. I thought that was a bit cliché especially because the entire time she’s on her way over to his house we hear how amazing and wonderful he is and then bam. He’s this dick who she never really knew. But that allows for the new love interest to have more of an impact on her life. What I did love about the situation with the ex is that she doesn’t take his shit and she doesn’t fall back on the ‘what could I have done different’ theme that we see so many times, so kudos to Walkup for that.
I mentioned the new love interest above, but he actually starts out as just a friend … or that’s what Jasmine is trying to convince herself of anyway. I thought Wes was sweet and patient with Jasmine. I really liked how he was supportive of her throughout, but I just felt like something was missing. I didn’t love them as much as I would have liked, and I think that I just wanted more about the characters on a deeper level.
That said, this was still an enjoyable read for me. I love that Jasmine isn’t a stereotypical girl… she’s seriously into radio and DJ’ing and it shows and I love that she has a passion and knows what she wants to do with her life and isn’t afraid to pursue it. The cover is what sold me on this book for sure and it captures the book perfectly. Overall, this is a quick read, at only 240 pages, you’ll breeze through it despite the heavy and serious issues at hand.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
GIVEAWAY
1 Winner will get a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
1 Winner will get a surprise YA book pack from Jennifer Walkup
1 Winner will get a swag pack
Open to US only | Must be 13+ to enter
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