•Pro: Ron was a total delight. He made some HUGE mistakes over the course of this book, and spent the last half of the book trying to atone for his mistakes, but I loved him. He was complicated, but intriguing, and he made me laugh. I am not like him, but I could relate to a lot his struggles.
•Pro: The family history bits were really interesting, and I have to give Bahar credit for being able to concisely package that much information.
•Pro: The style was pleasing to me, and really worked for this story. I often felt like Bahar was speaking directly to me, and this is a style I associate with memoires, which I guess this book sort of was, and therefore, the format was wholly appropriate.
•Pro: This story had a wonderful, nostalgic feel. I could hear the voice over in my head, which made me think of A Christmas Story, and the musical references just pushed it over the top for me.
•Pro: The book was set in Nebraska! I am always shouting about how most books are set on the coasts, and it was exciting to read a book set in The Middle. I also loved taking the trip with Ron to Israel.
•Pro: Ron's family was delightful. Granted, his parents put a lot of pressure on him, and though I did not agree with them, I sort of understood them, and I loved that he had his two older sisters there for some guidance.
•Pro: Between the quirky characters, teen hijinks, and self-depreciating humor, I found myself laughing quite often.
•Pro: I loved the theme of fidelity that permeated the book. Fidelity to your family, to your girlfriend, to you friends, to your dreams, and to yourself. It may be packaged with a ton of humor, but there was plenty of food for thought in this book.
I had become an expert at delayed gratification. Conversely, I had no idea what it meant to live in the present.
Overall: A hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age tale,which addressed family relationships, friendships, first love, identity, and finding one's voice quite well. I laughed, smiled, and felt the feels.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
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