Author: Julia Walton
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Paper Towns by John Green
Fat Boy vs the Cheerleaders by Geoff Herbach
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): "Bad luck follows lies." That was the first rule for life that Leo's Greek grandmother, Yia Yia, gave him before she died. But Leo's anxiety just caused a fight at school, and though he didn't lie, he wasn't exactly honest about how it all went down--how he went down. Now Leo's father thinks a self-defense class is exactly what his son needs to "man up."
"Leave the Paros family alone." That was Yia Yia's second rule for life. But who does Leo see sitting at the front desk of the local gym? Evey Paros, whose family supposedly cursed Leo's with bad luck. Seeing that Leo is desperate to enroll in anything but self-defense class, Evey cuts him a deal: she'll secretly enroll him in hot yoga instead--for a price. But what could the brilliant, ruthless, forbidden Evey Paros want from Leo?
My opinion: The first thing I like about this book is Leo. He's not traditionally "masculine." He doesn't like sports or fighting. He knits and crochets to cope with his anxiety. And when he does get in a fight, the jock who punches him ends up his friend. Their conflict comes more from a mutual lack of understanding than any judgment or true bullying. They can be friends and have different interests. They can find each other frustrating or mildly annoying but still likeable. And that relationship with the jock parallels Leo's relationship with his father. Sure they are different but neither one makes much of an effort to find common ground. They make assumptions about each other rather than attempting to communicate. These side relationships are, to me, more compelling than the main plot of Leo and Evey and their revenge plot, which has a couple of hard to believe turns. Still, this is an entertaining read with some heart.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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