[Review: Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill]

"Being Sloane Jacobs"
Author: Lauren Morrill
Series: None
Pages: 352
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Date Published: January 7th, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte
Format Read: ARC won from publisher

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Summary:

Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself.

-Goodreads 

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Being Sloane Jacobs,

Okay, so first off thanks for being so dang cute.  Seriously, you were one of the cutest books that I've read in a long time.  You gave me these two Sloane's who were totally different and yet both filled to the max with their own versions of snark.  You gave me dreamy boys and interesting skating details.  But most importantly, you gave me a great and warm and fuzzy story about two girls finding themselves and what's not to love about that?  Nothing, the answer is that nothing is not to love about that!

-The White Unicorn

I'll say it right now, I'm a huge fan of Lauren Morrill as an author.  Have I read her other book yet?  Nope, but I feel like I need to get on that in a hurry.  Contemporary books aren't my personal favorite, but every once in awhile one comes along that just makes me laugh and smile and feel all the happy feels!  Being Sloane Jacobs did all of these things while also delivering a really cool message at the same time.  The book is really about finding yourself and Morrill isn't afraid to make the journey amazingly fun along the way.  Plus, she puts so many awesome pop culture references in the pages that you find yourself wanting to high five her when she writes about Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

The novel is one part Parent Trap, one part The Cutting Edge and one huge helping of originality.  Morrill gives us two girls that seem really different at first glance, even if they do have the same name.  It's a genius idea to have both of the girl's names be Sloane Jacobs.  It's creates the perfect, yet predictable mix up that gives the girls a chance to switch places.  They are both running from things and both have a lot resting on their selected summer camps.  And then in a split second they are swapping hockey jerseys for skin tight Lycra and vice versa.

Sloane Devon was a feisty one.  She had so much snark in her bones that she always had me laughing.  Sure she's got a huge chip on her shoulder and a a reason to want to get away from her life, but she's still really likeable.  It was a blast to see her trying to fit into Sloane Emily's high class, figure skating life.  I honestly couldn't stop myself from laughing at most of the things she said.  Morrill created her with some great comedic timing.

Sloane Emily appeared to be the weaker character to me in the beginning, but pretty soon I found myself liking her as much as Sloane Devon.  You'd get to the point where you were just about to write her off and then she'd do or say something that was brilliant and funny and awesome.  She had a sneakier approach to her snark that totally worked for her.  Because her life isn't as peachy as it seems either.  She comes into her own as she teams up with the other hockey players and she builds a thicker skin.  It's awesome to watch.  In the end I ended up totally digging both of them.

There is a bit of romance in the pages, but it doesn't overwhelm the plot line.  Which I thought worked for the book.  I felt like since the romance wasn't the main focus, both seemed a little bit rushed, but overall it worked for me.  Plus, Morrill knows how to pack a swoon punch, so even with the little bits of rom/com she threw in, you still got that "how sweet" feeling in your stomach.

All in all I say give this one a shot.  It's one of the cutest books I've ever read and I'd highly recommend it!

Rating:

    4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!