Love & Leftovers: A Novel in Verse

by Sarah Tregay

When her father starts dating a man, fifteen-year-old Marcie's depressed mother takes her to New Hampshire but just as Marcie starts falling for a great guy her father brings her back to Iowa, where all of her relationships have become strained.

• ISBN10: 0062023608
• ISBN13: 9780062023605
• Publish Date: 13 May 2014 (first published 27 December 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Excluding Shakespeare, I don't read poetry...ever. I didn't know that's what this book was when I first added it to my to-read, but when I did find out I didn't think it was fair to dismiss it based on a writing style I've never tried. Therefore, Love & Leftovers became my introduction to novels in verse. It took some getting use to, but I did like how it was straight to the point without much filler. Each line, every word, had a purpose and added something important to the story.

Marcie's life is a mess. She just found out her father is gay, gets swept across the country with her depressed mother, is torn away from her best friend and boyfriend, and feels utterly alone. Enter sexy J.D. who fills that whole in Marcie's heart, but also brings in a whole new bag of problems. Hormones are raging, emotions are tangled, and sense is muttled. Marcie is just trying to belong somewhere, rather than being a leftover, and to someone and be in love.

Within Love & Leftovers' few words, the author manages to deal with many issues that teens and young adults face: love, loss, family issues, sex, sexuality, friendship, honesty, and depression, just to name a few. I was surprised by how much emotion and honesty was conveyed in all of the short poems. I could definitely identify with some of Marcie's struggles as she tries to sort out her relationships and feelings. I also loved all of the secondary characters. They each felt so real and unique, despite only having a handful of lines each.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. It's quick, fun, and has some unexpected depth which was very welcome. I'll definitely be checking out more novels in verse in the future.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[notajammiedodger]

This was my first verse novel. Just as I was starting it I was a little hesitant about it being a verse novel, but after you get used to it, it flows really nicely. I don't feel as though you got to know most of the other characters very much, and I didn't expect it to end as it did. All in all it was a fun quick read for me.

I didn't feel as though you got to know the other characters very well. We got to know Marcie pretty well, as we were reading the story through her poems, etc. but I felt that this kind of almost took away from the other characters. It may have been this way intentionally, so that the whole book is focused more on Marcie's story, but I am personally a big fan of well developed side characters.

I can't really say much about the other characters, I would have liked more about Marcie and J.D.'s relationship, even Marcie and Linus's to understand them more. Love and Leftovers is a great story about things we all go through in life.

P.s. I just remembered that I wanted to add this quote. Some of the writing really surprised/weirded me out at times. It was strange. She is in the bath by the way.

"I relax
floating up with each breath
and sinking when I exhale,
my nipples bobbing
like bouys
on Great Bay." - Love and Leftovers

This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)

[lizarodz]

Love & Leftovers is the second book I’ve read written in verse and just like Chasing Brooklyn before, I love it!

Marcie is a typical teenager, she is a little insecure and has a great group of friends in high school that call themselves to be the “Leftovers”. She lives in Boise, Idaho (where I went to college, btw) with her mom and dad, until tragedy strikes and she temporarily moves to New Hampshire (or so she thought). Unfortunately Marcie had to deal with many issues that are really hard for anyone (and even worst for a teenager!) and she did the best she could under the circumstances.

I didn’t like J.D. too much, he was handsome, but seemed kind of one-dimensional to me. I liked Linus more, although he too made some unfortunate decisions triggered by hurt (a very common mistake I assure you). Linus is a unique character and a musician that puts his emotions into song. Katie had me a little confused and I can’t help but not liking her. I know that Marcie made some poor choices, but so did Linus and Katie. I liked Marcie’s dad and Danny too, but her mom, not so much.

I am glad everything worked out at the end for almost everyone in the story.

The plot was simple and masterfully executed. What we are reading is Marcie’s diary that she writes as poems. If you have never given books written this way a chance, you should, they are very easy to read and follow. The writing was amazing, well-paced, and full of emotions.

Love & Leftovers is a great read, please give it a chance because is worth it :)

About the cover: I like the cover, is simple and gives the impression of a young girl and boy hugging or kissing. The papers in the background can be songs, poems or just making reference to school. I like the red shoes and title.