Reading, Writing and Being Generally Awesome

As seen on Ed and Em's Reviews!4/5 Stars!Thank you to Kim Culbertson for the copy of this novella to review!The main character, Max McTrue tries to be average. He doesn't do anything that would be considered "out of the ordinary," which is why it is so shocking for those who know him that he searches with Clara Jane instead of being in class. That was really realistic. People are shocked by change, especially when it occurs so quickly. People like patterns. People like reliability and stability. Max was a fallback. He had a pattern and he stuck with it. That's why he was so well liked.I liked that Max acted like an actual teenager. He found Clara Jane and a few other females in this novella attractive and you could really tell through his thoughts. He didn't feel shame for his sexual thoughts. Boys like sex. It's a fact of life. It was nice that a boy's sexual thoughts weren't exaggerated or pretending like he didn't think of it at all. Sex in Max's mind was just sprinkled in every once in a while.There was a part that seriously confused me. Emerson is allergic to white boards… Is that a legitimate allergy? I also struggled to keep up with all the point-of-view changes. It was nice to hear from everyone, but there were times when I felt it was a bit too much.It's a cliche idea, but the author writes it so well. This novella plays it out perfectly. The story is just about a boy who is trying to discover himself and figure out what he wants to do with his life. He's always done what he thinks others want of him, but meeting this "exotic" girl changes things for him.The four star rating is mostly because I wasn't satisfied with the ending. Overall, though, I was happy. It's a nice, steady-paced novella. I really enjoyed it. It's a great book for teenagers who are within their last two years of high school. The novella has a powerful message that could help those who need help finding themselves and what they want to accomplish in life. This book has an important lesson in it. Do what YOU want. Don't live your life for others, or you will be unsatisfied and unhappy. The decisions you make will affect you for the rest of your life, so it's important to make the best decision for you.