Summer Of Supernovas

by Darcy Woods

I thought this book would be a perfect light and sweet contemporary YA, but more frustrating than anything else.

This book tried too hard. It tried to be cute, but felt forced. It tried to be deeply romantic, but felt cliche. It tried to be quirky, but felt irritating. The characters lacked depth, specifically the interchangeable love interests who both fell hopelessly in love with Will within moments of meeting her. Nothing about these characters felt authentically teenage. It was almost as if this book had originally been about adults and then was changed to make them teenagers.

And the insta-love. Someone save me from the insta-love. This book takes spans three weeks, and Wil is hardcore pinning after meeting Guy #1 almost from the first meeting. By the end of the first date with Guy #2, she fretting over how much she's still thinking of Guy #1. She continues to get hot and bothered over Guy #1 while on date number #2 with Guy #2, who by then is obsessively in love with her. But of course she can't switch guys after 2 dates! Because astrology! And her dead mother said promise you won't fall in love with a pisces!

I really hoped this would be like the movie Only You, where Marissa Tomei is following a fortune teller's advice about the name of her true love so she ignores her growing feelings for Robert Downey Jr. while he helps her track down the guy with the right name. It's all kinds of adorable and romantic and it builds to her realizing she doesn't care about the supposed fortune. SUMMER OF SUPERNOVA is angsty and forced, and the insta-love is unbearable. Not to mention the way the romances work out is pretty damaging to both guys.

This book could have been and should have been so much better than it was.