Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

Sometimes It Happens

by Lauren Barnholdt

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published July 12th 2011 by Simon Pulse 

Source: Galley Grab

 

 

Plot:

On the last day of her junior year, Hannah's boyfriend Sebastian dumped her. Facing a summer of loneliness, Hannah turns to her best friend Ava for comfort. Ava does what BFFs do: she stays by Hannah's side...until it's time for Ava to head up to Maine for the summer. Also left behind is Ava's boyfriend, Noah, who's such a great guy he gets Hannah a job at the diner he waits tables at. Slowly, Hannah comes out of her funk thanks to Noah's good conversation and their fun times at the diner. But things get complicated when their friendship turns into attraction--and one night, into a passionate kiss.

The novel opens on the first day of senior year; the day Hannah is going to see Ava, Sebastian, and Noah all in one place. Over the course of the day secrets and betrayals are revealed, and alliances are broken and reformed. In the end, everyone is paired up once again, but not the way you might think...

My Thoughts:

There's nothing like a good contemporary in the summer. They can totally lift your mood because they are fun and the plots aren't super complicated, kind of like a romantic comedy. Ms. Barnholdt wrote TWO WAY STREET, another contemp novel that I feel in love with, so I was excited to review this novel.

 

The main character (MC) of Sometimes It Happens had such a great voice, as well as all of the secondary characters. If you've read any of my reviews before, you know the voice of the novels make or break a book for me. In young adult fiction, the teen voice has to ring true. If the MC sounds like an experienced adult or uses phrases that no teen would say I totally get turned off. YA is all about making mistakes and learning from them while you are coming of age and the voice needs to represent that.

 

I'm glad to say Hannah, our MC, pulled me in immediately. I loved how the novel switched from present time to past (over the summer) so we could watch things unfold. I understood why she liked Noah by reading the past parts of the story and then understood how guilty she felt by reading the present part of the story.  

I would recommend this novel to any YA contemp fan. Readers who enjoyed novels like The Duff, Twenty Boy Summer, The Sky is Everywhere, Something Like Fate, Sarah Dessen novels, Anna and the French Kiss and Rachel Hawthorne novels will fall in love with this story.