The One That I Want

The One That I Want
Jennifer Echols
Simon Pulse, 2012

Okay, I may have been late to discovering her, but I am totally a Jennifer Echols fangirl now. As in, I'm going to try and systematically catch up on titles I've missed, as well as keep tabs on all forthcoming offerings. That kind of fangirl. ((Plus, when she sends out a book for review, she signs it. I mean, seriously? How awesome is that!))

The One That I Want is one of Echols's romantic comedies, and I positively devoured it. Gemma is a fun character, and I loved watching her try to navigate the perils of high school drama, while also coming to terms with herself as a worth-while individual. (Such an important lesson for all of us to learn!) Gemma and Addison have been best friends for years, though not always happily. It's a strange friendship, but it "works" - mostly. And when Addison convinces Gemma to try out for majorette with her, and they both make the team, things seem to be getting good: Gemma has the incentive and inspiration to lose weight, and finally starts to feel good about herself. She even catches the eye of a hott football star at a summer majorette/football camp. Or does she? As soon as Gemma seems to be making positive strides, Addison swoops in for the kill and steals the hott (and wickedly smart) Max away from her, leaving Gemma with the handsome brooding quarterback. (Did I mention the boys are starters for the girls' school's rival team?) What follows is a complicated mix-up built on misunderstanding, misplaced trust, and just plain high school drama. In the best sense possible, of course. But the truth always comes out, and everything falls into its proper place, eventually.

The characters are fun, there's football talk (I admit, I'm a sucker for football, especially high school football), and the story is one that kept my attention and wouldn't let me go until I finished. It'd make a cute movie, I think. Definitely a fun "welcome to summer" read.

Book provided by author for review.