Love, Lucy

by April Lindner

[bookishzelda]

I’ve actually had my eye on Love, Lucy for a while because I love the cover. It makes me think romantic summer in Europe, which is how the first part of the book goes.

Lucy and Charlene are backpacking across Europe. We pick up with them when they reach Florence and decide to splurge on a hotel room. That’s where Lucy encounters Jesse, who she originally thinks of as a rude boy but it turns out she had him pegged wrong. She ends up spending lots of time with Jesse in the final days of her trip but at the end they part ways being that he has no intention of going to the states and she is going to college.

Lucy kind of allows herself to be pushed around and while she is spending time with Jesse she finds a little more of a voice. Standing up to Charlene. I had complicated feelings about Lucy. Although I was glad when she would stick up for herself it was almost like she would take the wrong route to do it. I understood her feelings sometimes but other times she was being hurtful or a sneak, instead of seeing the other persons side of things. She avoids confrontation which I think is a problem many people have. I think she acts her age in the book, which although can be frustrating to me, it’s how old she is. I could see her changing and kind of figuring things out. I think she learns what standing up for yourself really means.

I liked Jesse for the most part. I thought at times he was a little pushy and kind of a mixed signal sender. He was really up in Lucy’s business about her parents and I think he was projecting some of himself on her. Especially when he didn’t want to come back to the states and give his parents “the satisfaction”. He is a nice guy though and I liked how he tells Lucy that she has to make a choice between him and Shane she can’t have both and he gets angry at her when she doesn’t treat him well. He holds her accountable.

Shane is probably the character that is the most likeable. He’s generous and kind. I do think sometimes he tries too hard but he really cares about Lucy. I like that sometimes the perfect guy isn’t always the right guy.

There is the topic of cheating. I know sometimes people rather avoid books with it in it. It honestly doesn’t bother me. I am someone has been cheated on and even though it was an extremely devastating chapter in my life and it still hurts to think back on it. I can tell you that I learned a lot about myself in that time too and I made a very difficult choice of forgiving the person. Cheating is not black and white so when I see it in a book for me, I think I wish it didn’t happen but it happens. It’s not something that comes until much much later in the book.

I really liked the set-up of the plot starting in Florence and ending up in Pennsylvania. The whole idea if a vacation flirtation can turn into something long lasting. That when they leave Florence and Lucy has to make a choice at the end of the trip. Gave the story a great expanse of time of and places instead of just staying in the same town. I did enjoy it and think it’s a great summer read. It made me want to backpack through Europe.