Hello everyone!
I am back with another book review, today it is A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall.
This might be one of the cutest books I've read in a long time!
The basic premise is there are a boy and a girl, both a little shy and reserved, who meet on the first day of classes at college but don't really act on anything. But everyone around them sees that they are perfect for each other, from the park bench, to the squirrel, to the bus driver and the local Starbucks baristas.
We get the perspectives of everyone in the story except for Lea and Gabe. We see them interacting with friends, classmates, squirrels, but we never get a glimpse into their heads. There is something so strange and wonderful about this narration. Some perspectives seemed a little random, like the park bench, but others, like Gabe's brother and Lea's roommate gave real insight into how Lea and Gabe were feeling about each other.
I actually think one of my favourite perspectives is from Victor, he is in their creative writing class, not by choice, it is the only lit class that worked with his schedule, and although he is perceived as a bit of a jerk, he added some hilarious commentary. At one point, he even tells the two to "just get together already" in the middle of the classroom, causing much embarrassment, but also voicing the opinions of all those watching them.
This is definitely a light, quick read, I finished it in about two hours, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I knew that it was going to be a light, fluffy read. I wasn't expecting literary genius. (while it was good, it wasn't that good.)
As fluffy as this book comes off, it is interesting to get into the social world of life, how what you do each day is noticed by those around you. You may not know it, but your barista might be 'shipping' you with that guy at the other table, and your professor might be trying to play matchmaker and set you up with the girl who sits beside you. I'm not sure the story was meant to be taken at such a face value, but I found it fascinating to think about.
The one aspect I didn't love, and why I didn't give it a full five stars was because they took so long to get together, we barely see their relationship. This book is more about the build up than the relationship itself, and for me, that was a little disappointing. They almost got together, and then some misunderstanding would happen and things would fall apart.
For the most part, I made an exception to my golden rule of the importance of COMMUNICATION because these two seemed to have extenuating circumstances, but there was a point where the issue could have been resolved by asking like three questions.
I also really enjoyed the diversity within this book, that was there subtly, but not so subtle that you miss it entirely. Lea is Chinese-American, Gabe is Portuguese and some other country that has slipped my mind (mental note to look it up later), so we get not only a mixed race couple, but also non-white main characters. The professor is a lesbian and we see a couple interactions with her wife. One of Lea's friends is gay (yes, he does play into the GBF trope a bit, but not enough to be overbearing). All these little details are sprinkled throughout the text, not necessarily made a big deal of, but thrown in enough to let us know it is there.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend if you are looking for a cute read that doesn't take itself too seriously.
The basic premise is there are a boy and a girl, both a little shy and reserved, who meet on the first day of classes at college but don't really act on anything. But everyone around them sees that they are perfect for each other, from the park bench, to the squirrel, to the bus driver and the local Starbucks baristas.
We get the perspectives of everyone in the story except for Lea and Gabe. We see them interacting with friends, classmates, squirrels, but we never get a glimpse into their heads. There is something so strange and wonderful about this narration. Some perspectives seemed a little random, like the park bench, but others, like Gabe's brother and Lea's roommate gave real insight into how Lea and Gabe were feeling about each other.
I actually think one of my favourite perspectives is from Victor, he is in their creative writing class, not by choice, it is the only lit class that worked with his schedule, and although he is perceived as a bit of a jerk, he added some hilarious commentary. At one point, he even tells the two to "just get together already" in the middle of the classroom, causing much embarrassment, but also voicing the opinions of all those watching them.
This is definitely a light, quick read, I finished it in about two hours, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I knew that it was going to be a light, fluffy read. I wasn't expecting literary genius. (while it was good, it wasn't that good.)
As fluffy as this book comes off, it is interesting to get into the social world of life, how what you do each day is noticed by those around you. You may not know it, but your barista might be 'shipping' you with that guy at the other table, and your professor might be trying to play matchmaker and set you up with the girl who sits beside you. I'm not sure the story was meant to be taken at such a face value, but I found it fascinating to think about.
The one aspect I didn't love, and why I didn't give it a full five stars was because they took so long to get together, we barely see their relationship. This book is more about the build up than the relationship itself, and for me, that was a little disappointing. They almost got together, and then some misunderstanding would happen and things would fall apart.
For the most part, I made an exception to my golden rule of the importance of COMMUNICATION because these two seemed to have extenuating circumstances, but there was a point where the issue could have been resolved by asking like three questions.
I also really enjoyed the diversity within this book, that was there subtly, but not so subtle that you miss it entirely. Lea is Chinese-American, Gabe is Portuguese and some other country that has slipped my mind (mental note to look it up later), so we get not only a mixed race couple, but also non-white main characters. The professor is a lesbian and we see a couple interactions with her wife. One of Lea's friends is gay (yes, he does play into the GBF trope a bit, but not enough to be overbearing). All these little details are sprinkled throughout the text, not necessarily made a big deal of, but thrown in enough to let us know it is there.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend if you are looking for a cute read that doesn't take itself too seriously.