Dating the It Guy
by: Krysten Lindsay Hager
Publication date: March 21st 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Emme is a sophomore in high school who starts dating,
Brendon Agretti, the popular senior who happens to be a senator’s son
and well-known for his good looks. Emme feels out of her comfort zone
in Brendon’s world and it doesn’t help that his picture perfect ex,
Lauren, seems determined to get back into his life, along with every
other girl who wants to be the future Mrs. Agretti. Emme is already
conflicted due to the fact her last boyfriend cheated on her and her
whole world is off kilter with her family issues. Life suddenly seems
easier keeping Brendon away and relying on her crystals and horoscopes
to guide her. Emme soon starts to realize she needs to focus less on the
stars and more on her senses. Can Emme get over her insecurities and
make her relationship work? Life sure is complicated when you’re dating the it guy.
This story reminds me of high school, particularly crushes in high school. I think we were once like Emme. We also had a crush on the most popular and the cutest guy in high school. The ultimate crush of all crushes. Mine was a classmate. We were not close but he always said "hi" if we met on the lobby. We had very few interactions and we didn't have the same circle of friends. So, that was how far it went and remained until the second year in college. We didn't go to the same university. On one of the Christmas get-togethers, I didn't know how it happened but we ended up talking to each other alone. Everyone seemed to have just dispersed and left us. He was telling me about a girl he had a crush on who was a like lot me. I was so clueless at that time that I gave him very safe answers to his questions. It only dawned on me after a day or two that he was actually trying to find out if I also liked him. So, there goes my chance. We saw each other a few times after that due to inter-university activities but he never brought up the subject again. Yes, he was kind of my "the one that got away".
It may seem like the story of a nobody meeting Mr./Miss Popular and school heart-throb only happens in the movies or books. I believe it happens in real life too. And I almost had that experience but not quite. Too close! But I guess, I was so dumb-founded that I did not realize that it was actually happening to me at that time. When if finally dawned on me, the ship has already sailed. I liked stories like Emme and Brendon's. It's kind of the universe's way of maintaining balance. It's as if, the universe is trying to make amends for the unfair things that happened to people like Emme. And for all the things Emme is going through, she deserves to at least have one very good thing going in her life--that is Brendon.
And like all stories, Emme feels a bit insecure and all her fears about the last relationship she had came floating back to the surface. I can't blame her and her reactions were pretty normal. What strike me as different in this story is her dependence on crystals, stars, numerology and horoscopes to make significant decisions in her life. She has forgotten to rely on her instincts. Women's instincts are the most powerful tool we women should be thankful for. Personally, they have never failed me. I do admit, like Emme, I have second guessed myself a few times and ignored my instincts and gut-feel. Learning from those mistakes is how we grow into better individuals.
The moral of the story is to trust yourself. Believe in yourself. Crystals, lucky numbers and other lucky items are okay if they help you or give you a boost of courage or confidence but never leave everything or based your decisions on them, especially life-changing ones. Prayers help a lot too. Every good thing should come out of hard work and not from some hoodoo-voodoo. Milestones and successes are even sweeter if they were born out of sweat, sleepless nights and blood. Their satisfaction would be even more priceless.
I give this book 4/5 crystal bracelets. This is a sweet story with a very good lesson in the heart of it. This is a good reminder for young adults of the most important things in life like family, grandparents, friends and above all--one's self. Respect, belief in yourself and to follow your heart and instincts. To strive for things that yoi are passionate about and not the premade or laid-out plans your parents or what society expects. It's your life, take control of it and just do your best. Know that makes you most happy will always work out if you put your heart into it. And the people around you, especially your family will eventually support you, even if at first they won't. But if they see that you desperately want to succeed in it, they too will try to move mountains just so you could succeed. Never underestimate the power of love, more so when it comes to family.
So often people go to get their cards read because they're running from something, and they want someone else to be responsible for making the next decision. But it's okay to make a wrong decision because it's how you grow as a person.
- Krysten Lindsay Hager, Dating the It Guy -
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