When It Happens

It's one of the best YA novels out there, and definitely the best love story, on par with that of Ron/Hermione, or Lily/James. It's one of those epic ones that you don't logically think exist, and yet, can't help but hope...
Tobey's the guy every girl is looking for. He's sincere and honest and sweet and just a thoroughly lovely open person. He and Sara make an unbeatable pair.
While Sara and Tobey are the main focus, the other plotlines (Maggie's parents, college hunting, etc) all work effectively together. It gives the book more dimension and realism.
Colasanti is a master of characterization. She manages to get into the boy's brain and perfectly capture it. Her alternation of POVs is also great, with not too many but not too few show more characters telling the story. One would think this would be repetitive, but I LOVED seeing the very different ways Sara and Tobey thought about the same events. Hilariousness ensues.
Why is this better than other books in the romantic YA fiction genre? Because it has serious depth many of those lack. Because we get geeky characters that are really really relatable. Because it's realistic and really can happen. Because it tells a good story, but has a great moral too: Identify your dreams and then do whatever it humanly takes to make them a reality. It's not only an adorable lasting love story, but it's got much depth and other things that provide deep reflection.
Why? Because this is perfection in a book. show less

Sara Tyler has two goals for her senior year: (1) get into NYU so that she can pursue her dream of being an urban planner, and (2) start dating Dave, the hot and popular jock who’s started showing an interest in her. Unbeknownst to Sara, however, Tobey Beller has other plans. He’s liked Sara all summer, and he’s finally decided to ask her out. However, he’s nervous that she wouldn’t be interested in someone like him, a self-designated slacker whose biggest dream is making his band famous. Despite their differences, Sara and Tobey gradually form an intense connection, but Sara’s complicated love life and Tobey’s sexual past might be enough to drive them apart.

This is my second book by Susane Colasanti, so I feel fairly show more confident in saying that she’s a good writer in the YA genre; with so much sub-par YA littering the shelves lately, you could do a lot worse than pick up one of her books. I’m impressed with her dialogue, which actually seems realistic rather than laughably contrived. However, I’m not a big fan of her characterization in this book; Sara and Tobey are the only two characters who have any depth at all, and even with them, the character development is shallow. The secondary characters, particularly the popular kids, are nothing but flat stereotypes. The romance is not particularly exciting, either; we already know that Tobey likes Sara from the very beginning, and they get together long before the novel is over. Finally, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at some of the teen angst in this book. Some YA novels are written well enough to interest me despite being set in a high school, but this one didn’t quite do it for me. Throughout the novel, I couldn’t help but think, “I’m getting too old for this!” This book is perfect for its intended audience, but it just wasn’t the right book for me. show less

Sara Tyler is a sophisticated, sassy senior known for her intelligence and dedication to getting into the best college possible. Watching her from afar is Tobey Beller, a consummate slacker student who spends his time plucking guitar strings instead of doing schoolwork. Tobey’s had his eye on Sara for a while and has decided that the start of their senior year is going to mean big changes in his world: namely, he’s going after the girl. But cue the big, dopey but smokin’ hot competition for Sara’s affection: Dave, a jock with one thing (and you know the thing!) on his mind.

When It Happens is Sara and Tobey’s sweet love story, looking at the ways in which they continually seem to miss opportunities to be together — or simply show more dodge them, afraid of their feelings. What I loved about the book was how realistically relationships were portrayed (complete with realistic dialogue), and the fact that Colasanti doesn’t just gloss over the difficult stuff or make the novel dissolve into a cheesetastic after-school special. Real problems and questions teens face are addressed, but they’re done so in a thoughtful way — and the novel never seemed to fall into the trappings of an author talking down to teens about why they should wait. I appreciated, too, that Colasanti recognized the importance of first love — and that it wasn’t reduced to something silly, or something to be mocked. It was obvious she believed what she was saying, so I believed it, too!

A few gripes with the book? Characters other than Tobey and Sara were so on the periphery, I can’t even recall their names right now. They weren’t fleshed out or dimensional and seemed like mere stand-ins for “real” friends, people Colasanti needed to provide comic relief or fill the role in the background — like Tobey’s best friend, a guy with terrible dating advice, for example. Sara and Tobey — and even Dave — felt authentic, and like people I could actually know, but no one else did.

And where the heck were these kids’ parents? Sara mentions that her mom had her as a teen and is, like, on boyfriend No. 76 (stereotypical, but I’ll let it slide), and Tobey’s parents don’t seem to mind that their son has a half-dressed young woman in his bedroom (um, seriously?). We never know much about them or even see them in the story; they’re always “working late” or just . . . out. That seemed a little too easy for me.

But overall? A sweet, fast read that I’m sure would be enjoyed by high school students — and their older counterparts. Just a little parental warning? Issues of intimacy do come up quite a bit in the book, though they’re always done tastefully, but if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing or would just rather the kiddos stay clear of the topic, I’d hold off on this one for a few years. show less

Rating: A+

I bought this book, again as research, because it was written in alternating viewpoints between a guy and a girl, and I wanted to see about this (it's something I've been monkeying with in my book and I wanted to see how she transitioned... different fonts and chapter titles). Anyway, the book was super quick to read (I read it in 1/2 a day) and it was a much-appreciated change from Anatomy of a Boyfriend, which I'd just finished reading the day before... it didn't have the technical sex jargon, it was much more about feelings and illusions to romantic acts. All around, much more enjoyable than the previous book. I'd actually recommend this book, it was cute and did a great spin on the lovers from different worlds story (plus, show more it makes the jocks look like jerks, which I love). show less

I first heard about this book a few months ago when a review came through one of my book communities. The reviewer gave it high marks and the story sounded very cute, so I decided to give it a shot. I'm very glad that I did. It isn't monumental by any stretch, but it was a very genuine, sweet, fun story and I enjoyed reading it. There are a couple of flaws and a load of content that did, in my estimation, detract from the overall quality. The author's writing style is clear and fresh, however.
Colasanti has a good handle on her characters. These are high school kids and they act like high school kids, sometimes making foolish choices and trying to figure out how to successfully make the difficult shift into college and adulthood. This show more is something I could identify with and I'm sure other young people facing this time in their life would as well. The most important part is that they're likable and have real flaws.

Individually, I really liked both Sara and Tobey, as well as their small band of friends that make up the supporting cast. Sara is a girl after my own heart! I adore a girl who loves studying and learning and enjoys intellectual hobbies like music and reading. Likewise, I appreciated Tobey's passion for music. His struggle to figure out a path for his life resonated with me, as well. Both of them are authentic and believable. Colasanti did a great job at rounding these two out...perhaps because, from the look of it, she's still pretty young herself. If I'm not mistaken, she's also worked with young people. This would explain how she managed to pull off these characters so accurately.
The supporting characters are an amusing bunch and are also fleshed out very well. Each one is unique and comes with a unique history all their own. That was something else I liked about the book: there were no cookie-cutters here. This was incredibly refreshing for someone who has grown accustomed to (and sometimes, tired of) the look- and sound-alikes that fill other similar books by writers such as Meg Cabot. Mistake me not: I love Meg's books. I love how they have happy endings and the girl gets the guy and everything is hunky dory. Her characters are all very much the same though, and that gets old after a while. It's totally different in this book and it was a nice change.

One thing that really bothered me was how caught up the two main characters were with sleeping together. This drama played a significant role in their interactions over the second half of the book. I knocked two whole stars off for this reason alone. I did not like how important this end was to their relationship, as though it were a necessity to being truly in love. I hate when sex is equated with love in any way, when it is presented as the culmination of any truly "loving" relationship. How utterly shallow.

When It Happens reads like feel-good teen flick from the late 90s. It's cute, sometimes funny, sometimes meaningful, a bit romantic, and definitely not cheesy. The flow of events was real and natural, which I appreciated.
For those concerned, there is a bit of objectionable content, mostly a lot of swearing, and sexual references and situations. This is not a book for children. I probably would not recommend this for anyone younger than 15, but that is up to individual discretion.

Overall, a wonderful, warm, entertaining book. Recommended to anyone looking for a light, fun, easy read and loves those old silly 90s teen movies as much as I do. show less

I have mixed feelings about this book, it wasn't great but it wasn't terrible. I liked the idea of the story, much more than I liked the story itself, and I think that was the biggest problem.

I did really like that it was written in dual narration, and the characters were great. There was just something rushed about the whole book.

For a longer review, which will contain spoilers, please visit my website at http://thebooktower.webs.com

"sometimes, when you least expected it, life surprises you.”

Yikes, second typing of this review after internet crash ate the first one. I think I'm just a bit late to the party on this one. I bet it was adorable in 2006 when it was published but put under the harsh light of 2o19, I just don't think this one holds up well. There was too little talk about things going on today - and too many mentions of shows on tv that are no longer on or aren't talked about much. The characters felt cliche and a little silly. I think this one just didn't age well....at least, to me.