REVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Anything to Have You
by Paige Harbison
Anything to Have You is currently on tour with YA Bound Book Tours. The tour stops here today for my review and a giveaway. Please make sure you visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Nothing should come between best friends, not even boys. ESPECIALLY not boys.
Natalie and Brooke have had each other's backs forever. Natalie is the quiet one, college bound and happy to stay home and watch old movies. Brooke is the movie - the life of every party, the girl everyone wants to be.
Then it happens - one crazy night that Natalie can't remember and Brooke's boyfriend, Aiden, can't forget. Suddenly there's a question mark in Natalie and Brooke's friendship that tests everything they thought they knew about each other and has both girls discovering what true friendship really means.
Review
By Lynda Dickson
Natalie is a senior in her last semester of high school. She's a smart girl but hasn't made any plans yet for her future. Totally lacking in self-confidence, Natalie lives in the shadow of her outgoing, party-girl best friend, Brooke. Brooke has been going out with Aiden for a year, but her eye is starting to stray. Couple that with the fact that Natalie has a secret crush on Aiden, and that Brooke is pushing Natalie to have some fun, and you have a sure recipe for disaster.
After drinking too much at a party, Natalie wakes up the next morning not knowing what happened, except that she has hooked up with someone. Was it Aiden, or nice-guy Eric, or bad-boy Reed, or any one of the other many other guys she was talking to at the party? Meanwhile, Brooke makes some bad choices of her own, and the girls' friendship suffers a major setback. Will Natalie and Brooke be able to get over their differences and become friends again?
The author has a great natural writing style and maintains a conversational tone throughout. The characters speak and act like real teenagers. I especially loved Natalie's habit of making lists. The story alternates between Natalie's and Brooke's points-of-view. The story is very cleverly structured to reveal just enough at the right times. This is one of the few books I have read recently where multiple points-of-view are used to great effect. Even the repeated scenes feel fresh when told from a different perspective.
My only criticisms are the title and the cover, which I don't think accurately portray the essence of the story. The UK edition has a different cover (which I don't like either):
Warnings - coarse language, underage drinking, drug use, sex.
About the Author
Paige Harbison recently graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts. She grew up on the outskirts of Washington D.C. She spends most of her time with friends - who give her constant inspiration for characters - and calls it research. The rest of her time is spent writing, painting, and following all of the worst TV shows.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win one of five print copies of Anything To Have You (US and Canada only).
Links
