Picture drawn by Maggie Stiefvater, 2009. Header made by S.F. Robertson, 2010.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas
"Heart LaCoeur has zero interest in a messy high-school romance, no matter what her name suggests. That's why she's decided to avoid prom angst by going with a group of single friends. And that's why, when two surprise prom invites derail her brilliant plan, Heart takes the only foolproof, drama-free solution: a coin flip—that somehow gives her the chance to live out both prom nights. Heads or tails, where they both end up might be the most surprising thing of all. . . . "- summary from Amazon

This was a really interesting book. I thought the coin flip would be handled differently, but I think Czukas did a good job of moving back and forth between the two timelines. Heart is a great main character and I loved her sarcastic voice, and I think a lot of readers will identify with her. I also really enjoyed the character of Ryan (who is gay) and the friendship and banter between him and Heart throughout the book; it's very similar to how I am with my friends (except the part where he's scared of people finding out; that's not me anymore, lol). There's also Heart's various other friends too, known as the No Drama Prom-a Crew, and I loved how strong their friendship is, and it's so great to see that front and center in a YA novel.

And then there's Schroeder, who I'm still on the fence about. It is very obvious that he's into Heart from the beginning, so it's not like he's actively trying to hurt her but he really does act like a jerk throughout the book and despite how things end up, I'm still a little bit dubious about it. It's just one of those things where it's like I'm screaming at the book "JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER, YOU DIMWITS!". Which I know is easier said than done, but still, it would be so much better if that happened at least once or twice instead of just doing something jerky and then walking away. I understand the need for some conflict, but this aspect got to be a little too much at times.

Overall though, this was a cute, funny read and I'm eager to see what Czukas comes up with next!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

1 comment:

  1. If you like the two-alternate-timelines structure, you might also like Shaun David Hutchinson's book, FML.

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