Pink Polka Dot Books: Nothing Like You By Lauren Strasnick

Holly has just had a one night stand with Paul, a popular guy at her high school with a long-term girlfriend. Holly doesn't really know why she did it, except that her mom recently died of cancer and her feelings are all sort of numb. Unbelievably Paul persues her and convinces her to have a secret sexual relationship. That's great and all, but then she makes friends with Saskia (Paul's g/f) and also there's that neighbor boy Nils.... The harder she tries to end it with Paul, the harder he tries to change her mind, and the longer it goes on, the greater the chances are for major disaster!

I really really liked this book in a 'my heart hurt' kind of way. I felt bad for Holly even though what she was doing was wrong. I really wanted everything to work out for her, but I guess a lesson had to be learned there. I still wish it would've ended a with a little more resolution.

I thought the subject matter was pretty great. How many books tackle the subject of casual teen sex/friends with benefits in a realistic way? This one did an awesome job showing that sometimes people do bad things because they can't help themselves. A lot of people use sex as a need for comfort and love, but sex doesn't always equal love and that's a lesson a lot of young girls learn the hard way (like Holly). I know losing her mother wasn't an excuse for what she did, but I didn't see her as a villian. She was letting herself get talked into something because she wanted someone to care about her. I just felt like I could understand her so much. What she did to Nils was really shitty, but he should've been a better friend to her before and after :(

I also thought the way this book was written was cool. Some chapters would be only a page long, yet they were still incredibly powerful. It was so minimalist or something, but it worked!

"You are very loved. You need to work harder at loving yourself."~Amazing quote... and so true!

Add it to your To-Read List!