Review: Tangled

Title: Tangled
Author: Carolyn Mackler
Date Released: December 29, 2009
Pages: 308
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Description: Paradise wasn’t supposed to suck.

Not the state of being, but a resort in the Caribbean. Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all.

It will change Jena, whose first brush with romance takes her that much closer to having a life, and not just reading about those infinitely cooler and more exciting. It will change Dakota, who needs the devastating truth about his past to make him realize that he doesn’t have to be a jerk just because people think he’s one. It will change Skye, a heartbreakingly beautiful actress, who must come to terms with the fact that for once she has to stop playing a role or face the consequences. And it will change Owen, who has never risked anything before and who will take the leap from his online life to a real one all because of a girl he met at Paradise….

From confused to confident and back again, one thing’s certain: Four months after it all begins, none of them will ever be the same.

Review:

This book is a spontaneous, random, and pretty awesome adventure of four random people who's lives somehow interconnect through one vacation.

I really liked how the book is formatted, with each character narrating a month - resulting in a four month span of the novel. Each character is so different, as they represent different stereotypes - Jena as your average, waiting on romance, teenage girl, Dakota as the jerk-ish, jock, player dude, Skye as the Miss Perfection, and Owen as the dorky, awkward adolescent. So the different perspectives through each section made it really interesting! The author also brought so much more depth to their seemingly stereotypical characters. I especially liked the hidden pain and vulnerability that Dakota showed; considering his character, you wouldn't expect it.

I also really loved the plot, and how each character is connected with the others in some slight way. Although not every one of them meet each other, and actually all four of them never do meet at once - something I expected to happen - they all impact each others lives, whether they know it or not.

The whole novel really felt like real teen life - the author wasn't afraid to take it too far sometimes, and revealed some of that real teen craze and awesomeness you see out there.

The ending was really cute too (I'm not gonna spoil it, but I loved it and you'll have to read it to find out!), and I liked how in conclusion, the author tries to tell you a simple moral - sometimes, you just have to live your life to the spontaneous-osity max, and it's pretty amazing.

Definitely pick up a copy of Tangled sometime - it's one of those great books that leaves you feeling sappy and warm inside xD

Cover Review: The cover of this book was mostly what made me read it. I love the simplicity of it, with the blue and pink heart connected together. It defines the book pretty well :)

keep reading fellow book geeks!

MarMar<3