Review: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

I haven't read too many contemporary books lately. I saw Bittersweet on my Pulse It account and thought- "why not?" so I started reading.

I surely didn't expect Bittersweet to overtake and leave behind so many great books. While Anna and The French Kiss and Catching Jordan were some of my favorite books for 2011, Bittersweet can be set in the same setting as my all-time-favorite-contemporary-book, Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever.

The narrator of Bittersweet is Hudson Avery. Three years ago, she decided of giving up her glamorous future because of her parents. Her family was (and still is) a mess. She was afraid of it to broke apart and she knew she had been the only reason it hadn't. Though, she made her choice and had to live with the consequences.

I liked Hudson. She wasn't very brave girl, she wants to make everyone happy and she totally sacrifices her own happiness all the time. Even when I got angry with her, she was believable and reliable. I knew she had to do that, I believed her when she said so. She is magical; she is loved though she can't see it, she is needed. She is strong and incredible, definitely an exceptional character.

The other characters aren't any less good. Her mother is a complicated one; some of you might hate her and some of you might not. I think that made her so human, she has a lot of issues and she deals with them in her own way. Her brother is a little cute genius. Do you know it when your younger siblings say something that makes you so proud and you want to go tell everybody about it? That's exactly the boy's type. Absolutely adorable. Dani, Josh, Will and Kara were great characters; I can tell you what I liked about any of them but it's probably going to take all the day.

The writing was amazing. I loved the fact that the author could go from one topic to another without even blinking, that Hudson's memories were scattered gracefully along the story, that I could perfectly imagine how she felt without needing her to tell me.

The plot doesn't seem to be too fast or too slow; it picks its own melody and follows it patiently. You want things to happen so badly but they can't; it isn't their time. You know it, you shut up and read the story. While I trusted the author blindly to her perfect end, I was experienced the twists, the excitement and every other emotion I could have.

A perfect start for 2012. I'd not change anything in this book; I couldn't even think about it while reading until very early in the morning and hoping to get a little more of its magic. Loved every second, very recommended!

January 3rd, 2012.
Simon Pulse.
Source: Pulse It.
Challenge: Contemporary & Standalone.

Rose