Sunday, December 14, 2014

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

Book Summary
The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....

Flo's Review
Adorable! This was the perfect read for a Lazy Sunday in bed. I was absolutely intrigued when I read the premise for this book, and I thought the execution was very well done. By hearing the other characters' viewpoints, we didn't just get to learn more about Gabe and Lea -- we also learned about those characters. I think the teacher and Lea's roommate were my favorite, but I really enjoyed the classmate Victor, Gabe's two friends and brother, and the Starbucks barista. Could have done without the squirrel, I think. I understand the need for the bench viewpoint. 

The interview at the end of the book revealed that the story was cut down from 23 viewpoints to 14, and I think that was the right decision. Twenty-three would have gotten to be too much jumping around, I think. I always have a soft spot for the obviously infatuated by slightly awkward boys in books, so I thought Gabe was just adorable. The moments between he and Lea were just so cringe-worthy and cute at the same time, and I like that Victor and some of the others acknowledged this fact. I liked both their friends and the camaraderie they shared. 

This book gets 4 adorable stars from me!

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