(ARC Review) Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski

TEN THINGS WE DID
(and probably shouldn't have)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (June 7, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061701246
ISBN-13: 978-0061701245

SUMMARY:

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have. 

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them. 

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

MY THOUGHTS:

I was really looking forward to reading this book.  I wanted the teen angst and all the drama when you involve boys, girls, high school and no parents!  I had seen this book all over the blogging community, so I was excited for the chance to review it.  As soon as it arrived, I dove into it!

April's Dad and Stepmother announce that they are moving to Cleveland.  April has no desire to leave her school, her friends, or her boyfriend Noah.  When April and Vi come up with a plan to convince their parents to let April live with Vi and her Mom, they put the plan in motion.  When April's Dad agrees to her moving in with Vi for the last half of the school year, April is worried about lying to her Father, but she is also excited to be on her own!  Vi's Mother is on tour for her acting job, without April's Dad knowing, so April and Vi are basically left unsupervised with no adults.  What started out as a fun and crazy plan, ends up not going the way they had planned. Things go awry and have consequences, all things that began with one thing leading into another that never would have happened with supervision.

I am on the fence with my feelings on this book.  While I loved the plot, the characters and the teen angst, I wasn't a fan of the constant flashbacks and flash forwards the chapters did.  On one page you will be reading present story, then you turn the page and it is 10 minutes earlier.  Then after that flashback, we flash forward to present and back again all within a matter of pages.  It got to be a little confusing at times and not to mention a little annoying.  I would have enjoyed this so much more if there would have been less time warping and more present day action. 

The book wasn't a bad book, but I think with a little more tweaking of the timelines, it could be so much better.  With just a few of the scenes worked differently and adjusted through out the book, it could be a real hit in the teen genre. 

MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS