Thursday, May 9, 2013

All I Need by Susane Colasanti

Title: All I Need 
Author: Susane Colasanti
ISBN: 9780670014231
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Released: May 21, 2013
Page #: 240
Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary:
"Skye wants to meet the boy who will change her life forever. Seth feels their instant connection the second he sees her. When Seth starts talking to Skye at the last beach party of the summer, it's obvious to both of them that this is something real.

But when Seth leaves for college before they exchange contact info, Skye wonders if he felt the same way she did—and if she will ever see him again. Even if they find their way back to each other, can they make a long-distance relationship work despite trust issues, ex drama, and some serious background differences?"
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First Lines:

"'Something's going to happen tonight,' Adrienne says. 'I can feel it."
It would be awesome if she was right. We've been coming to this beach party for seven years. Nothing ever happens."
Page 1
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Review:

I haven't read anything by Colasanti before, and I figured she was one I needed to sample. So I picked up this latest book on Edelweiss to give her a shot. I don't think I was expecting quite the love fest, but it was an interesting concept. 

Skye and Seth meet on the beach one summer and go their separate ways. They spend the whole next year thinking about each other and wondering if they would ever see each other. They find each other again the next summer and their relationship blossoms. Long distance relationships are hard and they are about to find out what that means. 

This book is all romance all of the time. There's something very interesting about the set up of this story - you only get the bits that are about the two of them.  You know there are whole lives taking place in the months that you don't see. Each chapter or section makes huge jumps. You only get information when they are actively together or making some huge pronouncement about each other. 

I can appreciate that sort of story telling - mostly because there are so many teen books right now where the characters fall in love and devote themselves to each other in the first instant. It's not so logical. And while these two do fall hard, fast... they have time to think things over. Time to realize where they really stand on the relationship. So I give kudos for that. 

But I felt like there was a lot about our two main characters that you never find out. I understand the need for the time leaps, but I don't know how much I felt about the two of them. If we had gotten more in depth on their lives - more info about their friends and family - it might have felt better for me. So, in a way, the story almost felt rushed. Like we were running off to the next part to see what happened with the couple. I guess I would have liked more of the in between parts. 

I know a lot of people really enjoy Colasanti's books. And I'm very glad that I gave this one a go. But I think her style of story telling isn't quite in my wheelhouse. It's a really good story, so the bones are there. And I think a lot of people who love romance will be all about this book. It just wasn't quite right for me. 
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