How to Make Out

by Brianna R. Shrum

[layawaydragon]

Received a free copy to review.

I was interested after reading the blurb because nerd girl gets popular is a trope I have soft spot for and a blogger? Oh yes.

Except nerd girl really isn’t nerdy and the whole blog set up was unbelievable.

The Good:
+Girl good at math!
+I liked Renley's got realistic problems, issues, and effects on her psychologically

The Bad & The Other:
-Unbelievable blog set-up
-Love-angle, felt really bad for both these guys
-Renley was unlikable & didn’t seem to change or grow much

Renley doesn't want to go on this trip, but her better-off, one and only femal friend needs her to go. Renley's mother left and has a new family, her father remarried a girl around her age, and her best-friend Drew is an attractive "manwhore" that's in love with her. She's coasting along in her life sleeping next to said best-friend, crushing on a popular boy Seth, and being a math geek doing whatever she wants because her father won't discipline her.

Renley has a lightbulb moment one night and *poof* has a blog set up with a post published before Drew wakes up. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her blog stats start going crazy early. She’s searching Google for how-to’s, re-posting the same fucking thing and *poof* has a following! She's making money!

She’s bringing nothing unique, recycling content from others, and admittedly knows nothing. This is magic fairy land of blogging. I thought from the blurb it’d be more realistic and edgier, but…nope.

The “scandalous” nature of the blog is making out (kissing, no heavy petting) and how to give a hand job. That’s it. With the mention of Gossip Girl, I assumed something more. And again, the how to give a hand job was glossed over and of course she knocked it out of the park…

*sigh*

Where is the awkward learning phase? The funny mishaps and misunderstandings? Why is Ms. Innocently Perfect at all this "bad" stuff? Supposedly tackling hard issues and glossing over it is harmful, stupid, and contradictory. Don't bring this stuff to be "edgy" if you're not going to follow through.

The family problems -divorce, remarriage, estrangement- is treated like an excuse for her to cause drama but has it's moments. I did like how Renley and her step-mother talked towards the end when things inevitably come crashing down and shatters the family silence.

In the end, you’d really have to turn your brain off and let all the improbable situations go to enjoy How to Make Out but it’s not a light and fun contemporary. It’s like Loser/Queen with family issues, minus the mystery and a consistently unlikable protagonist.

So Skip It.