Review: Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have)

Title: Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have)
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Date Released: June 7th, 2011
Pages: 368
Rating: 4 out of 5


Description:

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

Review:
This was incredibly funny and a fun read!  I'm not really into books where there's a lot of... you know... sex involved.  But this book was a laugh-out-loud book and I've got to say that I quite liked its funniness.

In Ten Things We Did, April is stuck living with her dad ever since her parents split.  And ever since her parents nasty split, April has been struggling to grasp an understanding of love.  All of a sudden, her dad announces that they're moving to Ohio, and being a teenager, she naturally objects since she has a boyfriend, Noah, and her best friends Marissa and Vi.  So, what's the point of moving?  She ends up moving in with Vi, even though her mom's going on tour for a Mary Poppin's musical, which her dad doesn't know about, thus resulting in lie #1.  From there, they start their hilarious, and sometimes heartbreaking adventure.

There are exactly ten chapters, one for each thing that April and her friends did... And probably shouldn't have.  I loved the format of how it was done. 

As for the characters, they were all okay.  They're not characters that I personally liked, although I loved how they were all different.  April was cool, but she was a bit irresponsible at times, even though she tried to prove that she was responsible enough to live by herself.  Her boyfriend, Noah, was a bit of a jerk throughout the whole novel, and I really didn't get why April stayed with him because he was just so... distant sometimes.  I loved her friend Marissa, though, because she just seemed really grounded and down-to-earth.  Vi on the other hand was a very interesting friend.  She was kind of like the more mature one, but also sort of a bad influence on April at the same time.  Dean really added humor to the book, and Hudson was the more mysterious and elusive one, but waaay cooler than Noah.  Argh... Noah...

As for the things that they did and probably shouldn't have, they were pretty funny.  And pretty terrible.  But definitely more funny than terrible :)  Knowing that there are only ten things they did and only having vague chapter titles to go on, it really draws you in since you REALLY want to know what they did.  Like, "Harboring a Fugitive"?  Doesn't that make you want to read it even more?  Each chapter brings a sort of mystery to the reader because you sort of imagine something absolutely horrible happening, but they're teenagers, so it really shouldn't be that bad, right?

Ten Things We Did is not a majorly serious read.  It's definitely more of a fun, light read.  It does deal with some heavy issues like loosing your virginity and STDs, so, it's definitely geared towards older teens, like around 16 and up.  But, overall, I really enjoyed it.  If you're really into contemporary/comedy, then I'd recommend this one to you :) 

ALSO!  If you want to get it now, and if you have an ereader, it's only $0.99!!  Get it soon because I don't know how long that price is going to last for!

Cover Review:
I kind of like this cover.  It's really cute and simple.  Nothing fancy going on.  I also really like the simple font, too.  That may seem random, but it really fits the cover because it doesn't over do it or overshadow the actual cover part.

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com
**Review copy purchased for Kindle.