[Review: Catch A Falling Star by Kim Culbertson]

"Catch a Falling Star"
Author: Kim Culbertson
Series: None
Pages: 304
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Date Published: April 29th, 2014
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via NetGalley) for honest review

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Summary:

 A deliciously charming novel about finding true love . . . and yourself.

Nothing ever happens in Little, CA. Which is just the way Carter Moon likes it. But when Hollywood arrives to film a movie starring former child star turned PR mess Adam Jakes, everything changes. Carter's town becomes a giant glittery set and, much to her annoyance, everyone is starry-eyed for Adam. Carter seems to be the only girl not falling all over herself to get a glimpse of him. Which apparently makes her perfect for the secret offer of a lifetime: playing the role of Adam's girlfriend while he's in town, to improve his public image, in exchange for a hefty paycheck. Her family really needs the money and so Carters agrees. But it turns out Adam isn't at all who she thought he was. As they grow closer, their relationship walks a blurry line between what's real and what's fake, and Carter must open her eyes to the scariest of unexplored worlds - her future. Can Carter figure out what she wants out of life AND get the guy? Or are there no Hollywood endings in real life?

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Catch a Falling Star,

Well you were a creative contemporary weren't you?  I adored all of your characters and the inner dialogue.  You kept things interesting and gave us a look into fame without being obnoxious.  I applaud you for that.  It's not an easy job.  You were also really quirky and God knows that I'm a fan of the quirk.  Because of all of those reasons I really liked you and all of your "Little" hometown charm!

-The White Unicorn

I'm a huge fan of Culbertson's writing style so I knew that this book was going to be a treat.  Thank God I wasn't wrong.  Catch a Falling Star deals with fame and the thin line between what is real and fake in Hollywood.  It poses some really interesting questions about the movie making business while also staying classy.  Culbertson has this way of taking her characters out of their comfort zones and helping them figure their lives out in extremely unique ways.  This time around she just happens to use a hunky movie star with a bad rap and a money offer that's too good for our heroine to pass up.

This book is full blown romance and swoons.  Carter and Adam have the weirdest slow burn thing happening between them, because, technically she's being paid to pretend to be his girlfriend.  So, the whole time they're pretending to be an item and slowly falling for each other.  There is one of the most awkward first kisses of all time in these pages and it had me laughing so hard.  There are some extremely swoony moments where Adam switches from actor mode into something more and you can't help falling for him a little bit and neither can Carter.

Even though the book focuses on this staged romance, it also deals with a whole load of other awesome people.  Carter's family is adorable and her brother is messed up and she has a dog named Extra Pickles!!!!!  (Best. Dog. Name. Ever)  She also has two of the best friends a girl could ask for.  I totally understood how she felt about her best guy friend and her celebrity crazy BFF.  Also, the movie people were interesting and edgy.  They added this odd conflict to what the small town feel of the book.

Oh top of all of that Carter and her best pals run a star gazing blog and spend their nights out on the roof thinking about life.  That gives you a slight hint of the quirky and wonderful details that Culbertson uses in her novels.  She also masterfully uses all of these things to give Carter a journey into self discovery.  Which is delightfully detailed and not overgrown by the romance. 

If you're a fan of unique romances with awesome story telling this is the book for you!

Rating:

    4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!

[Review: Instructions fir a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson]

"Instructions for a Broken Heart"
Author: Kim Culbertson
Series: None
Pages: 304
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance, Travel
Date Published: May 1st, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format Read: Purchased paperback

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Summary:

Three days before her drama club's trip to Italy, Jessa Gardner discovers her boyfriend in the costume barn with another girl. Jessa is left with a care package from her best friend titled "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard," instructing her to do one un-Jessa-like thing each day of the trip. At turns hilarious and heartwrenching, Instructions for a Broken Heart paints a magical Italy in which Jessa learns she must figure out life-and romance-for herself.

-Goodreads

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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Instructions for a Broken Heart,

You go book!  You're pretty much one of the funniest and sweetest breakup books I've ever read.  I think that the reason I liked you so much could be because of fairly current life events of my own?  That's always a possibility, but that being said you had most of my favorite things in your pages.  Legit girl/boy friendships that don't head into romantic territory, about 1,000 Broadway show references and Italy (aka foreign lands).  You really out did yourself and I'm not sure why more people don't know about you.  We've all been in your shoes, or one day we will be and I think you're pretty cool for being who you are.

-The White Unicorn

I think what pulled me right into this story was the writing itself.  Oh, and the previously mentioned Broadway musical references.  You can't go wrong with those, you just can't.  But anyway,  Culbertson really knows how to describe what is happening around Jessa.  Sure, her language heads toward the flowery side of things, but there is a lot of weight in all the pretty words and that doesn't happen all the time.  There is a undefined, magical quality to what you read in these pages.  It's guaranteed to get ugly, there are going to be tears shed, but it still seems almost like a real life fairytale.

Imagine what it would be like to find your boyfriend cheating on you and then you have to go on a 10 day trip with the new happy couple... in Italy.  That's what Jessa has to deal with.  To top everything off, her best friend isn't on the trip with her, but not to worry, we get to know Carissa through the 20 envelopes that she sends off with Jessa.  Jessa comes off as slightly whiny and lost, but you understand where she's at and you're wanting to give her high fives by the end of the book.  This girl is hilarious and I like how she's not painted as a Saint, even though it's easy to side with her.  She has a lot of growing up left to do and a large chunk of that ends up happening on the beautiful streets of various Italian cities.

The setting is rich.  You can feel Italy's heart in the story.  It's almost it's own character.  An entity that helps Jessa heal and keeps her and us as readers highly entertained as the novel progresses.  You get to see a lot of Italy in just 10 days.  I was impressed. 

So, because their school's acting program is fairly small, Jessa's school has to team up with another group of high school students.  It was a clever plot point to have two separate schools on the same tour.  It added lots of interesting characters and also gave us Dylan Thomas, who sounded pretty darn dreamy, if you're asking me.  It was great to see Jessa form an instant friendship with him as well as seeing her interacting with her best male friend Tyler.  I loved that Culbertson gave us such a genuine friendship between two teens like Jessa and Tyler.  It would have been so easy for them to be romantic leads together, but they just worked as friends and it was awesome to see in YA.  Of course that still leaves us with Dylan Thomas...

Instructions for a Broken Heart will remind you of what it feels to have your heart ripped out and what it means to put it back together again.  Sometimes the journey is messy, but in the end you'll end up being bigger and better than you were before.  Jessa reminds us of that more than anything else.

Rating:

 4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!