Almost Impossible by Nicole Williams
I received an ARC via Netgalley for a fair review.
Jade has spent her whole life on the road with her rock star mom. But this summer she wants the typical american high school summer. She’s on a mission to figure out who she is and on the way, with the encouragement from her mom, get herself into a little trouble. That is, with the hot boy next door, Quentin.
The Story
This book is the epitome of the poolside read. I mean, a quarter of it is spent with Jade working at a pool ogling a cute boy. Aside from that, Almost Impossible provided a quick and mostly light hearted read that you can go through in pretty much one sitting. With that in mind, it also still provides some scenarios that teens face in their lives thus giving it some substance aside from the oooh, cute boy variety, which I initially thought it might only be. I found it refreshing to have characters with unique backgrounds, especially for being such a light read. In fact, the scenarios the kids were in could have been quite heavy and had more time spent discussing the ramifications, but I was happy it wasn’t. The situations that came up were in the past, and I thought everything was handled on a mostly mature level, given that there is some grace because they are 17.
All in all, if you’re looking for a light beach ya contemporary for a beach read this might be the ticket. With just enough drama to make you think something happens, but not enough that leaves you contemplating the meaning of life.
The Characters
What I liked about Jade was that she was responsible, but not the type of kid who hasn’t done some living. She’s been around the world and don’t lots of things, but is also able to sit still and read a book on a Friday night. For once I appreciated the fact that she wanted what normal teenagers had, and it wasn’t because of lack of trying because she’s introvert, but from lack of opportunity to sit still long enough to do so.
The Soundtrack
Macklemore feat Kesha – Good Old Days
