Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

Publisher: Simon Pulse (October 20, 2009)

Hardcover: 224 pages

Reading Level: Young Adult

Summary: "When Holly loses her virginity to Paul, a guy she barely knows, she assumes their encounter is a one-night stand. After all, Paul is too popular to even be speaking to Holly...and he happens to have a long-term girlfriend, Saskia. But ever since Holly's mom died six months ago, Holly has been numb to the world, and she's getting desperate to feel something, anything--so when Paul keeps pursuing her, Holly relents. Paul's kisses are a welcome diversion...and it's nice to feel like the kind of girl that a guy like Paul would choose.

But things aren't so simple with Saskia around. Paul's real girlfriend is willowy and perfect... and nothing like Holly. To make matters worse, she and Holly are becoming friends. Suddenly the consequences of Holly's choices are all too real, and Holly stands to lose more than she ever realized she had."

Review: Nothing Like You is a short book, around 200 pages of reading but it certainly is able to cover a lot of stuff and was easy to get into.

This book was filled with angst well, actually I'm not sure if that's the right word...but it definitely was able to make me feel bad for some characters, especially Holly. She and Paul Bennett are having some sort of relationship that is basically only sex. Meanwhile, Paul is dating Saskia who becomes good friends with Holly. Then, there is Holly's best friend, Nils. I absolutely loved reading about their friendship.

I loved the parts with Holly and her father, Jeff. Holly's mother died a six months before and they are trying to deal with it the best way they can. I liked the scenes with Holly and her theatre teacher. Lauren Strasnick does a fantastic job making the book realistic and there are a lot of things that people can relate to.

The ending was bittersweet but I thought it was a good way to end the book. Can't wait to read more books by Lauren!

*Oh and I liked to mention that this book wasn't graphic with sex at all. So if you're worried about that, don't be.

Rating:

Characters: 9/10

Originality: 9/10

Ending: 9/10

Writing: 10/10

Voice: 10/10

Plot: 8/10

Favorite character(s): Nils, Holly, and Saskia were among my favorites. I don't know how to explain why, since they had their faults but I thought they were pretty nice. My least favorite was Paul. Ugh!

Cover: A. Very pretty cover.

Overall: Great book on teenage angst, loss and love. 4 stars.

(to find out more on the Rating System)

*Won this HC book from Tina at Fantastic Book Reviews!