Jamie Ponti

Animal Attraction is a cute romantic comedy taking place in the mid 2000’s — one that I liked a lot more than I was expecting to. Jane has a lot of big plans for the summer — one is to work a couple jobs to pay her share for the car her parents just bought her. However, when it looks as though she’s about to be scouted by a great university to be on their swim team, she has to drop out of the Mermaid Show at her local theme park, because swimming in it would make her a professional swimmer, which would disqualify her. So, she ends up becoming an animal character instead. On top of that, she wants to find a boyfriend for the summer. She has to learn how to balance her social and work life, and it turns out to be a bit of a challenge!

One of the strongest points of this book for me is that while it has the stereotypical love-triangle bit, it’s not done in a melodramatic, terrible way. Jane is never forced to choose between which guy she likes most; she starts dating a guy, and that’s that for the other love interest. Also, both of them are very nice and would be good boyfriends for her. I hate when one love interest is clearly terrible (I hate it more when he gets chosen, way to show teenagers how they should approach relationships — but, I digress), and the other is perfect and it’s somehow a conflict. Thankfully, it’s done tastefully and shows a very real situation where people have choices as to who they want to date and it’s all about timing and courage and all sorts of other factors.

I also love all the characters in this book. Jane is such a relatable character — she just wants to have fun and pursue her dreams. I like that her parents seemed like actual people and were given more of a role than I usually see in these types of books. Jane’s best friends are also a riot. They are all super supportive of one another and while they have their disagreements, they also have each other’s backs, and it’s a great portrayal of a high school friend group.

Aside from that, it’s funny and it shows how fun relationships (and different) relationships can be. It also shows how tangled lies can get when you try to be someone you’re not. I’m not sure how well the pop culture references would be received in today’s time, since they all very much draw from the mid-to-late 2000’s. Aside from that, though, this is a cute fun romance. It’s a fast, fluffy read, so if that’s what you’re looking for, I definitely recommend it.

Also posted on Purple People Readers.… (mais)

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Darby hates her life. Her father had a mid-life crisis and quit his job on Wall Street to move the family to Coconut Grove, Florida, to run the Seabreeze Hotel. His family always vacationed there, and when he wanted a change, he convinced the owners that he wanted to keep it the way it was, and sold it to him. Now Darby spends her senior year with only one new friend, Kate, and having to work a couple of nights a week in the hotel's restaurant.

On New Year's Eve, she feigns an illness and returns to her room on the top floor of the hotel. She has a secret spot on the roof she escapes to when she wants to be undisturbed. While on the roof, she notices a lone surfer on the water. She is transfixed, and is startled to find out it is Zach Miller. Zach is a local boy who works at the hotel, as well. As he walks by, he sees her on the roof and waves "Hi" as he leaves the beach.

From that moment on, Darby is smitten. Kate encourages her to pursue Zach. But Darby receives mixed signals along the way. He offers to show Darby the wonders of Coconut Beach, but asks her younger brother to come along. The two travel to pick up lobster for her dad and she's convinced Zach is going to kiss her, but the moment passes. Finally, he asks her out on a real date. And it is wonderful!

Darby starts to accept her new life in Florida, seeing Coconut Grove as a resident rather than an outsider. It's only when she and the Spirit Club are working on their Valentine's Day float does everything begin to go awry. Her boyfriend from New York City arrives unannounced. The problem is, she and Brendan never officially broke up. She just moved away and then they stopped communication after awhile. With her blossoming romance with Zach on the line, Darby has to do everything she can to keep her new life going in the direction she wants it to go.

I loved SEA OF LOVE. It's a perfect romantic story for the upcoming Valentine season. Darby has her ups and downs, but as with all the books in the Romantic Comedies series, you know it's going to have a sweet ending, one way or another!… (mais)