Jeremiah Yuda Umam

Slammed: A Novel (1)

Book by Colleen Hoover

DETAILS

Publisher : Atria; Original edition (September 18, 2012) Language : English Paperback : 352 pages ISBN-10 : 1476715904 ISBN-13 : 978-1476715902 Item Weight : 14.4 ounces Dimensions : 5.31 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches Best Sellers Rank: #1,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #87 in Contemporary Women Fiction #144 in New Adult & College Romance (Books) #370 in Contemporary Romance (Books) ,

REVIEW

Originally reviewed at[...] It's hard for me to narrow down all the reasons I fell for Slammed. It's the characters. It's the romance. It's the strong family themes. It's the poetry featured. It's the authentic dialogue. It's the writing itself. It's all of those things rolled into one that make Slammed such a perfect read. It felt like Lake, Will, Kel and Caulder, Eddie and Lake's mom are people I know, or could know. It just felt very real. So as you can gather from the above synopsis, we meet Layken (Lake) and her family (brother, Kel and mom, Julia) as they are leaving Texas to move to Michigan. Lake's dad recently passed away after suffering a heart attack and the family is still recovering from the unexpected loss. Within a few pages we meet Will, and his younger brother Caulder (love that name!) who live in the house across the street from the rental Lake's family is moving into. There is instant chemistry for sure between Lake and Will, and the next day, Will asks Lake on a date. Things are suddenly looking up for Lake and she's starting to believe that maybe this move won't be such a terrible thing after all. The first date turns out to be amazing. Why? Because Will takes Lake to this club that hosts performance poetry (or Slams) one night a week. Ok. I've heard of slam poetry. The first thing I think of is Mike Meyers performing slam poetry in 'So I Married an Axe Murderer.' Remember that? Anyway, that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject. But you guys, it turns out to be so COOL. It's not getting up in front of an audience and reciting poetry. It's not 'Dead Poets Society' (that one I stole from the book itself,) it's much more personal. It's soul bearing. And the best part? This is Will's passion. When he gets up on stage and performs a piece, essentially letting Lake into his own life and story, she has officially fallen. Hard. There is an undeniable connection made between the two and it would appear that Lake and Will are on the cusp of a major romance. And just when you think it can't get any better, BAM! The bottom drops out. So I can't reveal why this happens because that would be MAJOR spolilery. But something is revealed that completely changes things and Lake and Will can't be together. The entire mood and tone of the book shifts and what remains is how Lake and Will deal with the aftermath. Character wise, I loved both Lake and Will. They are both such good people who truly want to be responsible and do the right thing. The problem is their hearts keep getting in the way of their heads. It's frustrating and heartbreaking to witness and I found it impossible to not root for them and wish they could find a way to work it all out. In addition, both Will, and especially Lake, undergo some great character growth, which is SO important, isn't it? There are some moments where it seems like Lake is obsessing over the break up, and some moments where it seems like she's not taking steps to move forward, but those moments are brief and actually pretty realistic in my opinion. There is one scene where Lake says all she feels like doing is sleeping, because it doesn't hurt as bad when you're asleep. When I read that I was like "Yep. Been there." But Lake does pick herself up, dust herself off, and try to move on. Ok, I can't elaborate any further without giving too much away. Moving on. The secondary characters in Slammed are superb. Each is individual and fully developed and play important roles in the story. There really aren't any people written in that act as filler, each character is important in their own right. Of all them I can't help but gravitate towards Lake's new best friend Eddie (who is a girl) and who has her own set of problems and challenges. But Eddie is also intensely loyal and just a great person. She's quirky and outspoken and I adored her. I want a spin off with Eddie as the MC! The other character that I loved was Julia, Lake's mom. Thank you Colleen Hoover for having a parental figure who is front and center in the MC's life! I for one am sick of reading YA that either sidelines the parents relegating them to the distant background or worse, ignores them altogether. Some of the best YA books I have read lately have parents and guardians playing active roles in the story, and I LOVE that. The importance of family is a strong theme that reverberates throughout the book and it is one of my favorite aspects. The romance is written beautifully. It's the perfect mix of sweet (there are plenty of "a[...]" moments) and steamy (plenty of "Whoa, that's hot..." moments.) The physical attraction is there but the emotional attraction (I don't even know if that's a real term) is just as important, and in the end, that's the MOST important connection between Will and Lake. And there are some issues in this book. But it didn't feel like an "issue" book to me. It didn't feel melodramatic or over the top. It felt authentic and real. Grief, loss and denial, as well as the role of responsibility and priorities are all represented in Slammed. Will and Lake encounter these challenges head on and watching them work to resolve their problems ultimately resulted in a book with a very uplifting message. I LOVE books that do that. I would be remiss if I didn't talk a little about the poetry and the song lyrics mentioned at the start of each chapter of Slammed. Author Colleen Hoover dedicated this book to the indie band the Avett Brothers who inspire her writing. These lyrics tie in beautifully to the book and for a music (especially indie and alternative music) lover like me it is always such a treat to read how music motivates writers. If you want to check out Hoover's Avett Brothers play list for Slammed you can find that here:[...] And I have to leave you with a taste of the poetry found in Slammed. Here is my favorite of Will's poems: I used to love the ocean. Everything about her. Her coral reefs, her white caps, her roaring waves, the rocks they lap, her pirate legends and mermaid tails, Treasures lost and treasures held... And ALL of her fish in the sea. Yes, I used to love the ocean, Everything about her, The way she would sing me to sleep as I lay in my bed then wake me with a force that I soon came to dread. Her fables, her lies, her misleading eyes, I'd drain her dry If I cared enough to. I used to love the ocean, Everything about her. Her coral reefs, her whitecaps, her roaring waves, the rocks they lap, her pirate legends and mermaid tails, Treasures lost and treasures held. And ALL of her fish in the sea. Well if you've ever tried navigating your sailboat through she stormy seas, you would realize that her whitecaps are your enemies. If you've ever tried swimming a shore when your leg gets a cramp and you just had a huge meal of In-N-Out burgers that's weighing you down, and her roaring waves are knocking the wind out of you, filling your lungs with water as you flail your arms, trying to get someone's attention, but your friends just wave back at you? And if you've ever grown up with dreams in your head about life, and how one of these days you would pirate your own ship and have your own crew and that all of the mermaids would love only you? Well, you would realize...as I eventually realized... That all the good things about her? All the beautiful? It's not real. It's fake. So you keep your ocean, I'll take the Lake. Freaking shivers every time I read that, people. Read the book, you'll understand why:) If you love quiet stories that grab hold of you and don't let go, and if you love big romance and characters that you can get behind and support with your heart and soul, I think you'll love Slammed. I hope you give it a try:)

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