Book Review: Something, Maybe

Title Something, Maybe
Author Elizabeth Scott
Genre YA Commercial Fiction
Rating B

Summary Hannah wants to be really normal, but that's hard to do when your mom's job is doing internet chats in her lingerie and your dad is a Hugh Hefner-spin-off. Hannah does her best to be invisible, going through school and work (with her crush-of-ultimate-proportions Josh and irritating Finn) and biding her time until she can start college and get away from home.

First Line "Everyone's seen my mother naked."

Review That's a pretty good first line. And the book's pretty good too. Hannah is an interesting enough character, and you get enough of a glimpse at her home life that her ever-so-slightly whiny inner monologues are understandable. But the best part of the book is that Scott does a good job of portraying Hannah's parents in a two-dimensional light as well--they're clearly not perfect (or even close), but they're sufficiently complex and interesting to read about.

The rising action of the book and the climax were pretty gripping (as far as contemporary YA fiction goes) and caused a lump to rise in the back of my throat. Sure, I knew what was going to happen with Hannah's love interests, but there was enough meat on the bones of this story to make it a satisfying read.

Note: I read this book because I'd previously read Scott's Perfect You, which wasn't that great, but had a teaser for this book in the back, and this book was far better. I'd encourage anybody who had even a little bit of interest in Scott's earlier works (even if it wasn't jaw-dropping awe) to give this one a shot.

Recommendation Anybody who is a fan of light, fun YA fiction (with romantic undertones and family drama) should enjoy a good bit of quick reading in this one.