Point of Retreat

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This series is definitely going on my favorites pile. I finished reading it with my cheeks wet with happy tears. But boy is this book intense !! It had me laughing and crying, it made my heart race and I swear it stopped beating all together for several chapters. Just like with the first book, I love how absolutely none of the characters make stupid decisions or did stupid things. I love the love that Will and Lake share both for each other and for their brothers. I love how each and every one of the side characters and main characters were characters I'd want to read whole books about. I have come to love slam poetry (well, at least the ones from this book, I don't really have any other experience with it). I loved that this book was from Will's perspective. I love how the author integrated lyrics, and poetry throughout the story bringing deeper meaning to an already intensely emotional read. And I loved the HEA :) While Eddie and Lake clean the kitchen, I take the opportunity to ask Gavin for a favor. Lake and I haven’t had any alone time in weeks due to always having the boys. I really need alone time with her. I realize I'm being a bit sarcastic here, but this plot device is just so overdone, and completely uninteresting. Frankly, if I ever read another evil ex-girlfriend plot again, it'll be too soon. H σειρά Slammed μας λέει για το πως μπορεί να βρεθεί η αγάπη (ερωτική, φιλική, οικογενειακή) στα πιο απίθανα μέρη. Μας μιλάει για την ωριμότητα και την ζωή. Η ιστορία του Will και της Lake είναι πολύτιμη και όμορφη. Οι χαρακτήρες παλιοί και καινούριοι κατέχουν μια θέση στην καρδιά μου. Η Collen Hoover είναι μια ξεχωριστή συγγραφέας με όμορφη γραφή που σε συνεπαίρνει για την συνέχεια.

One YA reader, 14-year-old Ash Taylor, tells me Hoover’s is “writing for people who don’t like reading”. Then they amend that: “It’s like fanfic whose inspiration is the novel itself.” Hoover writes to the novelistic form, but isn’t trying to be it. She’s deft, she’s witty, her plots propel and her characters stand up on their own; if she wanted her books to read more like regular, commercial fiction, she would have no problem writing them like that. That’s just not the effect she’s going for. The behavior that was drawn as romantic and endearing in Slammed that set off alarm bells for me (when Will punched another guy out of jealousy), reared its head again in Point of Retreat, when he sabatoges Layken's car (!) so he has to give her a ride in his, trapping her with him when she's trying to avoid him. He leans forward in his chair and slaps his hands on the table. “I got a job! At Getty’s, delivering pizza!” He looks happy, for some reason. Oh, the one Kel’s crushing on?” Gavin smiles, and I can see his wheels turning. He’s already thinking of ways to embarrass Kel at dinner. Tonight should be interesting. Eddie, along with the rest of us, stares at Kiersten without responding. Kiersten is oblivious, turning to Lake to repeat her question. “What’s your major, Layken?”The success of Colleen Hoover isn’t a story about an author who can’t get published and through sheer self-belief builds an audience, forcing the industry gatekeepers to listen. She has always been very clear on her legend: she never tried to get a publishing deal, and is very lo-fi and hands-off. She self-published her debut, Slammed, because her mum had just got a Kindle and she wanted to have something to show her. That was late 2011, and within a couple of months she had a sequel, Point of Retreat, uploaded to Wattpad, the self-publishing platform. Wattpad is huge for fanfic – self-published fiction at any length, written by fans of an idol: a musician or actor, or a character from a TV show or video game or other book. Fanfic is idiosyncratic and, as often as not, erotic, for obvious reasons. Lake grabs a french fry off her plate and throws it at Eddie, hitting her in the face with it. “That’s Bullshit,” Lake says. Will και της Lake δεν θα μπορούσε να είναι πιο αληθινή αλλά τα προβλήματα τους δεν έχουν τελειωμό. Ειδικά όταν η Vaughn πρώην του Will φοιτά στο ίδιο πανεπιστήμιο και προσπαθεί να τον ξανά διεκδικήσει. Τότε η Lake θα αρχίσει να αμφισβητεί τα πάντα στην σχέση τους και την ζωή τους με αποτέλεσμα να υπάρξει ένας επικός τσακωμός που θα θέσει την οικογένεια τους κοντά στον χωρισμό.

There are also little "quirks" in here that I think are supposed to be cute. Like, using butterflying instead of *whispers* the f word. "I butterflying hate cheeseburgers" Will says. I can do this as well: I butterflying do not like this book. I think that one of the reasons I loved it so much as I did was because I was in the right kind of mood after a few dark and heavy reads. Kiersten stands up and takes her plate to the sink. “I have to go. Thanks for the bread, Will,” she says sarcastically. “It was delicious.” I also loved how the secondary characters became a huge part of Will and Lake's lives. The concept of friendship was definitely apparent here.And what a war they had to face yet again! This was an amazing sequel to Will and Lake's story and I "butterflying" loved it; just as much as Slammed I believe. And, well, the fact that it was in Will's POV? Just made it that much more exciting for me... And even with all of the bad shit thrown at you? What do you say? Do you let it defeat you? No. You don’t. She’s the eleven-year-old neighbor I was telling you about. The one I think is an imposter based on the things that come out of her mouth. I’m beginning to suspect she’s really a tiny adult posing as a little redheaded child.” It's interesting that these old school behaviors are so popular in fiction--both YA and adult--these days, and it makes me extremely uncomfortable as it reinforces unhealthy relationship patterns and the tolerance of unacceptable behavior in the name of "romance" when in fact it's controlling and disrespectful. (Thanks, Twilight.)

We’re having dinner with Gavin and Eddie tonight. I think I’ll make cheeseburgers. Cheeseburgers sound good. That’s all I really have to say right now... Not really, he’ll be eleven in eight days,” Gavin says. “Eleven is the prime age for first girlfriends.” Ohhhh boy I'm steamed, I'm really steamed here... I'm all worked up about how much I hated this book. Somebody talk me down from this rant I'm about to deliver... RANT ENSUING. you would think that after a year I would have found a way to get through to her or to manipulate her in some way." As with the first book, Will is just too good to be true. I like coming across male characters similar to him every now and again because of their ability to express their emotions so honestly and deeply. How far he was willing to go to prove to Layken that their relationship was deeper than the hardships they’ve had to overcome at such a young age tossed my emotional compass all over the map. Kisses on the forehead will never be the same… thank you very much.

Interesting books

Seriously, I want to beat myself to a bloody pulp, poke my eyes out, jump out a window...whatever. I can't believe I waited so long to read these. What the hell??? I brush her hair out of her eyes and run my finger along the edge of her cheek. “I love you, Lake.” There was a perfect character addition in this book that really stole the show, and I enjoyed every single one of her appearances. Kirsten was such a breath of fresh air to this cast with her surprisingly insightful wit and intuition. I loved her! Even more so, I came to adore how Caulder and Kel protect this little spit fire from some of the hurt she experienced as the new kid in school. Hoover carefully appended the concept of bullying with such a subtle sleight of hand to create an additional layer of depth to this story. About Kiersten’s slam at the end… well done sweetheart! Overall, this book is filled to the brim with humor and heart. A sure fire combination to win me over. I can’t wait to see what Hoover shares with us next. I’m a fan… that I am…

He turns toward me and gives me a mischievous grin. “Kel lied for me. He told her that I really thought he was choking and I was trying to save his life,” he says. “Which brings me to my sweet for the day. I was rewarded for my heroic behavior. Mrs. Brill gave me two free study hall passes.” Despite that Colleen Hoover's Slammed was a frustrating read, there was a part of me that found it strangely readable and enjoyable. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for its wholly unnecessary sequel, Point of Retreat. In Point of Retreat, Will and Layken find themselves embroiled in even more drama, but the core of the story is two-fold: Note: Please do not continue to read this review, should you plan on reading Slammed and want to remain unspoiled.]This book was just so butterflying cute. I think I was grinning like a fool though most of the book. It had some angst, and I found myself with teary eyes a few times. But mostly it was darn cute. And I loved it uniqueness, it blew me away! I didn´t realize just how much I could appreciate poetry this much in a book. Me and Glass have closer views of this book than we had on the first one. Slammed was something that I didn't expect. Not the story itself but my reaction on the story. Point of Retreat wasn't that much. I mean the story was still good and it still had emotions, but it was not it. I must admit one thing Colleen really knows how to write a story with feelings and that's an amazing thing, cause that's what I mostly miss in the books. The problem here is that I expected much more, because of the Slammed. I take a slip of paper out of the satchel and hold it up. When I look at her, I see Eddie slide her a napkin. I can’t tell from up here, but that can only mean she’s crying.)