Author: Jenn Bennett
Edition: Simon & Schuster UK, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★ ★
Review
I don't even know where to start. I devoured this book; I read it in just over 24 hours, and that's including the day out I was on with my family.
Okay, let's start with Bex. I loved Bex and her dream of being a medical illustrator. It was so refreshing to have a character wanting to be something other than the generic. I think it's so important for teens to realise how many options they have. I didn't realise what I really wanted to be until I'd already done a year at university. Not saying I'd want to be a medical illustrator, but it would have been nice to be able to read about characters who dreamt of careers you'd never heard of.
Bex was also a change from characters who are shy and awkward and can't believe their male counterpart actually likes them (not saying I dislike those kind of characters). She was sure of herself, daring, and confident, and I loved that, out of her and Jack, it was Jack who was the virgin.
On that point, I have to mention how well the sex was handled. There was no graphic description of it all, but there were the (sometimes) awkward conversations about it. I think my favourite thing was that it wasn't played out to be this super huge major thing. Jack and Bex did it simply because they loved each other. It was a natural next step for them.
Then we've got Jack. Jack is...good. Just so, so, so, good! He's charismatic but not in a forceful way. One minute he's confident and the next he's blushing like a normal human being. The chemistry between Jack and Bex is amazing, and some of their conversations gave me butterflies (the way the best books do, because I'm far too invested in fictional characters). I loved their first few meetings where there was awkward silences and a lot of blushing. It all felt very genuine to me.
There's so much diversity in this book it's actually unreal. And Jenn Bennett did it so well – I never felt like she was shoving it down my throat. Each element was handled delicately, slipped in so that I just accepted it and carried on. There was no jarring where I thought, 'Hang on a second, what?'.
The margins of my copy are now peppered with comments like 'Jack!!' or 'Bex!!', lots of hearts and passages underlined. That's partly why my rating is what it is. I've given Night Owls five stars because it got in my head. Bex and Jack grabbed hold of me and pulled me into their world and I loved every second. It's one of those books that I wish I hadn't finished so quickly because now I'm having some kind of withdrawal. I've given it my gold star rating because it reminded me why I want to be a writer, why I love YA, why I love words and books and stories.
I seriously recommend this book. Go read it now. Please. And let me know what you think!
Favourite Quote
"Saying good-bye to him that morning was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do. I cried a little. I couldn't help it. If we were older, he'd have his own place, and I could just stay over. Or I'd have my own place, and he could just stay over. It wasn't even the sex. I wanted to sleep with him and wake up with him. I wanted the whole package. I wanted more.
'One day,' he promised."
No comments:
Post a Comment