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Saturday, June 22, 2013

BBReview: "All I Need" By Susane Colasanti

Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Publishing Date: May 21st, 2013
Page Count: 240
Source: BEA (Book Expo America)
Format: Hardcover

Description from Goodreads.com:
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?

Teen favorite Susane Colasanti returns to the alternating-voice style of her beloved debut When It Happens in this Serendipity-inspired story about summer, soul mates, and the moments that change our lives forever.

Review:
All I Need was a very cute and romantic story. The one thing I really appreciated about it was that it was very realistic. It never went too far into how girls fantasize romance to be. It was very true to how it is in real life. It made you believe that you were reading about a romance that really happened to someone in real life, since it was about finding love and fighting to keep it that love when real life situations make the relationship rocky. Although I appreciated that it was so realistic, the fact that it was so believable made the story a bit of a downer. You don't want to read about trouble in paradise, you want everything to be great and perfect, but that's also not real life. So it was a double edged sword. I'm just not really used to reading about typical, normal relationship happenings and so it brought me down a little. I'm used to shocker events in relationships that make you hate the person, but then they make up for it.

The other thing I really liked about All I Need was the characters. Seth and Skye are very true to their personality characters, they loved what they loved and that was it. They also were very real people. They weren't perfect, they had their baggage, and they were a little nerdy. They weren't the typical main characters where it's the popular girl and the bad boy, or the football star and the loner. It was just two real people who had common interests and got together. I also really loved Skye's friends Kara and Jocelyn. They really added to the story, because you also knew about all the drama with them. As if you were really looking into someones life. Nobody's friends are perfect and so they also have extra drama that they bring to the story, instead of just being secondary characters.

Finally the book is told in both Skye and Seth's point of views, which EVERYONE knows I absolutely love. I love being able to get into both of the main characters heads. It just makes the story more whole and more true. I feel like I know everything and it really gives me a bigger emotional connection to the characters. I honestly wish more authors would take advantage of this love of mine, because I don't know how you can't love multiple POV's.

Although it was a bit of a downer book, since it was all realistic, I did like the ending. I thought it really stayed true to entire book and stayed away from fantasy. It honestly made me feel good about my own relationship, because real relationships aren't perfect like in other books. It's rocky, but if he/she is worth it, you stick it out and make it work.

Overall:
All I Need was a story that I liked, not loved. It was kind of a double ended sword situation, because I loved that the romance and lives of these characters stuck to how it is in the real world, but at the same time when you read about real world romance it's not a fantasy relationship. There are bumps in the road which made the book a bit of a downer. I did love that it was in both Seth and Skye's point of view, because it made the story richer, and I love that we learned about other things going on in their lives, like friends and parents, besides the romance, because again it made it all more believable as if you were just reading someones real life story. I recommend this book for contemporary readers, and definitely to those who like a dose of reality every now and then.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 3/5


**The books cover, description, and info was all found and borrowed from Goodreads.com. A link back to it's Goodreads site has been provided. All other work and ideas are of my own creation. I received this novel while at Book Expo America 2013 for free.**