Layover

by Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer

Fans of Julie Buxbaum's Tell Me Three Things and Morgan Matson's Since You've Been Gone will get caught up in the drama of this road trip romance that begins with an unplanned flight layover in L.A. and turns into a wild adventure.

FLYNN: At first we were almost strangers. But ever since I moved to New York, Amos was the one person I could count on. And together we were there for Poppy. (I mean, what kind of parents leave their kid to be raised by a nanny?) I just didn't expect to fall for him--and I never expected him to leave us.

AMOS: I thought I was the only one who felt it. I told myself it was because we were spending so much time together--taking care of Poppy and all. But that night, I could tell she felt it, too. And I freaked out--you're not supposed to fall for your stepsister. So I ran away to boarding school. I should have told her why I was leaving, but every time I tried, it felt like a lie.

One missed flight was about to change their lives forever. . . .

Perfect for fans of Clueless and brought to you by two Hollywood screenwriters, this wild journey of unlikely romance, heartbreak, and adventure--set against the backdrop of a blended family in free fall during a rebellious layover in Los Angeles–reveals the true value of the unbreakable bonds we forge when we dare to let ourselves risk it all.

"A thoughtful, charming journey into the nature of love and family." –Rachel Cohn, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

"This road-trip saga from Hollywood screenwriters Andelson and Meyer is being hailed as a must-read for fans of 'Clueless.'" –Brightly

• ISBN10: 1524764876
• ISBN13: 9781524764876
• Publish Date: 6 February 2018
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 19 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House USA Children's Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524764876

Reviews

[Amber]

I can’t say I was a fan of this one. I really liked the idea of the three teenagers running around Los Angeles together and seeing the sights, but unfortunately it wasn’t executed very well and I had massive issues with the romance.


I didn’t mind the idea of the step-sibling romance to begin with when I first read the synopsis because I didn’t know the full story. But once I found out more about the relationship and the characters, I was a bit creeped out. Firstly, the two had been step-siblings since they were children. They weren’t teenagers who had been thrown into this situation. So even though they didn’t really grow up together (they lived in separate houses), I was still a bit creeped out. They also share a half-sibling, which is the part that I really took issue with.

I thought the characters made some really stupid decisions, like ditching their phones as they left the airport. Of course, they’re teenagers, and teenagers do stupid things, but it really aggravated me. I could buy them wanting to rebel to keep their (step-)parents together, but I couldn’t get over them getting rid of their phones.

I also really disliked Amos, the male main character. He was a complete ass. And the female main character, Flynn, kept going on about how she wasn’t like other girls. So yay.

I’m really disappointed with Layover because I really liked the concept. I just wish it had been executed better, and the characters had been given some development instead of staying so awful.

[Sam@WLABB]

I must admit, I was sucked in by the cover and synopsis. I am always up for a good forbidden romance type of thing, but I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a lot more to this story than I anticipated.

•Pro: At its heart, this is a sibling story, and I really enjoyed watching all three of them interacting together. I especially liked seeing the older siblings dote on their little sister, because she really needed to shown she was special.

•Pro: Poppy, the youngest sibling, just lit up the page. She had such a precious, youthful exuberance, and she was in a league all her own. I just imagine fast forwarding 10 years to where she is an "it" girl, because she is finally appreciated for her off-the-norm tastes.

•Con: This story features those not present YA parents, that I am not a fan of.

•Pro: BUT, I was glad with the way things played out, because we did get evidence that these parents did actually love their children. I was really proud of some of the decisions they made towards the end, and they were sort of able to redeemed themselves a little.

•Pro: I grew up in NYC, but I really need to go there as a tourist, because I want to visit the whisper bench in Central Park. How do I not know about these things?

•Con: The middle, the actual layover part of this book, was where my feelings became a little muddled. There seemed to be a lot of things going on during the layover portion of the book that did not really move the story forward. I wish the focus had stayed on the feelings between Amos and Flynn and the siblings.

•Pro: However, the beginning and ending of this book were great. In fact, the ending was really strong, and it left me completely satisfied.

•Pro: I thought the story flowed well. I was a fan of the three POVs, and liked that they were kept short and we constantly flipped from one to the other. The rapid changes kept me in the moment while allowing me to get input from each character.

Overall: This story was really complicated and so were my feelings about it. There was enough there to keep me reading and wanting to find out what happened next, but it didn't quite have the impact I was hoping for.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

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