Title: Aspen
Author: Rebekah Crane
Series: Stand alone
Genre: YA Contemporary
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: In This Together Media
Published: June 5th, 2015
Page count: 236 pages
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley (thank you!)
Book Summary:
One quiet night in Boulder, Colorado, Aspen Yellow-Sunrise Taylor made a mistake.In the next instant, her life changed forever.Aspen doesn’t want to remember the car accident that killed Katelyn Ryan, a sleek-haired popular soccer player. But forgetting is hard– because Katelyn may have died — but she didn’t leave. Her ghost is following Aspen around, and heading into senior year, it’s kind of a problem. Especially when Katelyn’s former boyfriend Ben appears to be the only person at school with a clue as to how Aspen feels.Popularity, Homecoming Court, hot guys – none of these things ever mattered to Aspen. She’s been busy trying to keep her stoner mother Ninny in line and out of unemployment. But with Ben sitting next to her in Physics and her therapist begging her to remember all the things she wants to forget, Aspen is thrust into a vivid, challenging world she can’t control … and doesn’t want to.A darkly funny, emotionally gripping story of opening up, letting go, and moving on, Aspen is about the best-worst accident of your life … and what comes next.
*The Reader’s Review*
My rating: 5/5 stars
Oh boy oh boy, you’re in for a treat if you ever decide to read Aspen by Rebekah Crane. This little gem made me laugh insanely throughout the whole book with its dry humour and out of the norm characters. It’s also a book that makes you feel all giddy inside, but also sad for the main character, Aspen, as she deals with the aftermath of the car accident she was involved in that kills a girl named Katelyn, whom she used to know from her school.
I don’t kn0w why but I thought the whole homecoming court was going to be a big thing in this book since Aspen went from a nobody to a big somebody. It’s weird how surviving a car accident automatically gives her a boost in the popularity department and everyone just wants to get to know her, much to her dismay. I’m glad all of this doesn’t go to Aspen’s head and instead of being a story about newfound popularity, it turns out to be a small journey of how she deals with the traumatic event and unwanted feelings that may complicate things more.
I liked Aspen’s personality. She is smart, funny (dry humour funny) and she’s a good friend. I loved the relationship she has with her two best friends, Cass and Kim, and even with her boss at the place she works for. She’s also a good daughter even though her mother, Ninny isn’t exactly the best mom in the whole world. But, I have to say, at times I did question if Aspen was a nice person. She goes around trying to find out and prove that Katelyn wasn’t the perfect person everyone was saying she was. In a funny way, she would say something mean like correcting someone when he said a nice fact about Katelyn that wasn’t true. Oh well, I think this may have had to do with the “trying to get rid of the guilt” thing, besides, her ability to be blunt and straightforward happened to make her sound harsher. I still think she was cool.
THE BEST part about this book were the characters, hands down. I just about became a laughing mess every time they came up with something ridiculously funny. Like Ninny with her “studying” innuendos, Ben (love interest) keeping up with Aspen’s humour, Cass running away from guys trying to beat him up shouting Olives at the top of his lungs, Kim trying to change her name to something less Asian, and even Mr. Salmon hating kids and teaching in general. Oh, the laughs *wipes tears*. You have to read it to get it, seriously funny.
All in all, Aspen is a great book with a little bit of everything. I may have focused a lot on the humour side, but there’s also a cute romance, heartfelt moments and lessons to be learned like a mentioned earlier on. I highly recommend it and I can’t wait to read more from this author!
I don't know if I would have picked this book up, but your thoughts definitely make me curious! I'm very happy you loved it and that the characters were so much fun to read about 🙂 It really sounds like a great book!
It's fantastic, keeps you emtertained for a few hours. I'm very happy with my reading experience of Aspen 🙂
I love your reviews Melissa <3. Characters for me make or break a story so it's really good to hear your take on the characters. 🙂
Thanks, Kate! <3 Yup, characters were great in Aspen, so well written that it wasn't hard to feel them, oddities and all. 🙂
I love when a book can do that! 🙂
This book sounds great and your review is great. I probably would not have picked this one up but if i come across it I might just give it a shot 🙂
Chanzie @ Mean Who You Are.