I actually feel happy today because I did a good job last night. I set a goal for myself last week for my online job. I needed to reach a certain earning because I had a bill to be paid this week. I did not work on Monday and Tuesday, so that left me 5 days to work. These past few days, I've been sleeping really late or early in the morning actually. I also get up late, around noon. So, I reached my goal for the week by staying up very late for about 3 days. I am so happy that I decided that to make my life more challenging, I have to set short-term goals for myself for motivation. God knows, I've been trying to find inspiration in whatever or wherever I can. I know I'm not in the place where I want to be now and I just need to keep holding on. Hopefully, things will be better soon.
So, I set the happy tone for this post because the book I will feature today is a very inspirational and feel-good story. Like all inspirational stories, everything is not all peaches and roses for the main character. Like all of us, she had to undergo and experience emotional challenges, her beliefs had been questioned, and had to go through all other personal growth and transformation. What sets the character of Jayden Valdez apart from the other characters in other similar YA stories is the fact that she's Hispanic but is having a hard time in her Spanish class. It's a very frustrating situation that is even more made desperate by her Spanish teacher. The teacher offered to give her a tutor and the tutor is a jock who speaks slang and appears as dumb as a rock. Jayden thinks that Mike McGinnes is never qualified to be a tutor, Spanish or otherwise. Little did Jayden know that Mike is not all that he seems.
As I have said, this story is very easy to read and very light. Though the characters' backgrounds weren't all that perfect, they each had their own baggages and issues to deal with, but the combination is a really well thought out mix of quirky and very adorable people. Jayden and Mike's combination alone is a very unlikely one. At the onset, these two are opposites of the gene pool. A very smart and overachieving girl and a dumb jock. You would think that if there's any tutoring happening, it would be Jayden who would be doing it and not Mike. But as fate would have it, it was not the case. These two were unwillingly thrown into each other's company. Jayden's situation is desperate, so she had to accept Mike as a tutor if she wants to ace high school and get into the university that she wants to get into for college. As these two find a common ground, they realize that they are not exactly completely opposites.
This story is just so hilarious. I really enjoyed Jayden and Mike's back and forth banter just to outsmart each other and to get to have the last say. Plus, add in Mike's pint size firecracker sister who is just so adorable. Joy perfectly fits her name because that is just what she is. Joy packed in a very small body who's very witty. I just love her. I actually want to adopt her. Her twin brother, Jackson, is the opposite of her dynamite personality but is very adorable also. I wanted to give Jackson all the hugs in the world to assure him that even if he's not as bubbly as his sister, he's just as lovable. Add in the bubbly friends of both Jayden and Mike who are also personalities on their own. They're like the really cool friends that you want to have in high school.
This is an absolutely swoon worthy story. I love Mike. I understand why he had to hide his true colors because he just wanted to fit in and not draw attention. I think, in a way, his half-brother's advise worked because it served its purpose but it has its downside. That lends to the saying, "The end does not justify the means." In this story, did it? Was it the best way to survive high school? I think the answer is subjective. As I see it, it worked but Mike has to try so hard to appear dumb so as not to give himself away. Well, it's high school. It's crazy and teens think and do all sorts of crazy things. So, this was not really out of the left field but it's still crazy. Actually, a very smart way to survive high school and avoid the bullies and I'm just glad that it worked so well with Mike.
Because this is a very delightful story, I give this 5/5 cross country running shoes. Though this is very delicious and entertaining, this also pointed out some harsh realities. The story mentions bullying, the plight of broken families, the daily life of single moms, and the various drama in a teenager's life from passing Spanish to other teen angsts. Even if the story was leaning more on the light side, it did not in any way brush aside or put less value on any of the issues mentioned. Instead, it somehow leaves its readers with a good feeling that in spite of all the cares in the world, there are still a few beautiful things to be thankful for and excited about. A teenager's life is full of confusion, chaos, and it feels like one is being pulled from different directions. This is the threshold where one is presented with a lot of choices but a person's circumstance can either prevent it or leave him with no other option. It's an exciting part of one's life but also challenging. For a parent, it's the most dreaded part of their kids' life. Dreaded because it presents a lot of possibilities and sometimes parents can only do so much to try to make their teenagers follow the right path. It's but natural to try new things and explore the unknown and how stupid and foolish and responsible your teenager could be spells the difference. In the end, teenagers have to learn to think for themselves and learn from the consequences of their actions. To learn the value of accountability and responsibility, which are great tools in adulting.
This is the fourth book in the series but it's a stand alone. Now, I want to read all the other stories before this. I want to find out if they are as amusing as this one. If you are having a very difficult day, read this. It's very satisfying that you'll momentarily forget all your worries. Thank you again Robin Daniels for the ARC.
You ask them to clean up their toys, and it's like the end of the freaking world. You ask them to do a big kid chore that they won't be any good at, and it's like an early Christmas present.
She was like a Sour Patch Kid, tart on the outside, but sweet once you wore her down.
- Robin Daniels, Perfectly Misunderstood -
