queendi's review against another edition
3.0
Lo encontré un poco desesperante por parte de la hermana de Julianne, Chloe y su relación con Remi peor tuve un final bonito
artsymusings's review against another edition
3.0
Forbidden Boy promised a summer full of sun, fun and of course, the forbidden boy. Hailey Abbott sure did make me fall under the spell of the ever enchanting beach. It was beautiful the way she described the beach and its surroundings and at the same time, being undermined by the Moores. I liked the way it all played out though it involved slight drama, as well.
I really liked the way the art and architecture was included in the story and yes, the eco-friendly undertones, too. It was all fresh, summery and sunny in the neighborhood of the Kahns and the Moores.
The book started out pretty well and the subtle incorporation of awkwardness in Remi wasn't lost on me. I actually appreciated the slightly-flawed hero. It is welcoming once in a while. Although, early on, Julianne did seem overly dramatic where Remi was concerned, it all got pretty mellowed down as the story progressed.
In all, Forbidden Boy was a good summer beach read. I think it's safe to say that I can always count on Hailey Abbot to give me a light and entertaining read.
I really liked the way the art and architecture was included in the story and yes, the eco-friendly undertones, too. It was all fresh, summery and sunny in the neighborhood of the Kahns and the Moores.
The book started out pretty well and the subtle incorporation of awkwardness in Remi wasn't lost on me. I actually appreciated the slightly-flawed hero. It is welcoming once in a while. Although, early on, Julianne did seem overly dramatic where Remi was concerned, it all got pretty mellowed down as the story progressed.
In all, Forbidden Boy was a good summer beach read. I think it's safe to say that I can always count on Hailey Abbot to give me a light and entertaining read.
extrakrispy's review against another edition
1.0
This book has been read and reviewed for Reading Thru the Library.
In Forbidden Boy, the Great Millennial Novel, Julianne and her family try to cope with the ever-developing beachfront that their deceased mother loved, while our protagonist also admittedly stalks the son of the family that's developing the beach. The boy, Remi, also happens to be her boss at the construction site where they both hold summer jobs.
I decided that, in order to curb my ranting about horrible writing and horrible characters and horrible dialogue and horrible everything, I would just make a short list of some comments I made in media res.
• "This book has dating and real estate development as subject headings?"
• "Well sweetheart, 'turning into a big robot' is a lot less crappy than your life, guaranteed."
• "Ah, these pages have glitter all over them?! That's adding insult to injury!"
• "I like this line. This is acceptable." (Re: "The gates themselves were aggressively orange - like they were there specifically to tell every other part of the color wheel to go to hell." (82).)
• "Who puts eighteen-year-old kids in charge of a construction project?"
• "Do all the clothes brands have to be pointed out every single time a character enters a scene? Really?"
• "'...warring families...Shakespearean tragedy?' Give me a break!"
Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy, but dislikes boy's house. Girl and boy work together on construction site? Girl and girl's sister stalk boy via Myspace. Girl gets angry when reprimanded for not doing construction site things properly. Girl pretends power tools are spy toys.
I think I understand what this book was attempting to do, with the whole 'dead-mother-loved-beach-which-is-being-developed' thing, but it was not applied well at all. I rated this one star simply because I am sick of this author's publishing discharge.
On the off chance that you actually want to read this book, here's a heads up - pages 80 and 81 are a glitter bomb.
This book has been read and reviewed for Reading Thru the Library.
In Forbidden Boy, the Great Millennial Novel, Julianne and her family try to cope with the ever-developing beachfront that their deceased mother loved, while our protagonist also admittedly stalks the son of the family that's developing the beach. The boy, Remi, also happens to be her boss at the construction site where they both hold summer jobs.
I decided that, in order to curb my ranting about horrible writing and horrible characters and horrible dialogue and horrible everything, I would just make a short list of some comments I made in media res.
• "This book has dating and real estate development as subject headings?"
• "Well sweetheart, 'turning into a big robot' is a lot less crappy than your life, guaranteed."
• "Ah, these pages have glitter all over them?! That's adding insult to injury!"
• "I like this line. This is acceptable." (Re: "The gates themselves were aggressively orange - like they were there specifically to tell every other part of the color wheel to go to hell." (82).)
• "Who puts eighteen-year-old kids in charge of a construction project?"
• "Do all the clothes brands have to be pointed out every single time a character enters a scene? Really?"
• "'...warring families...Shakespearean tragedy?' Give me a break!"
Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy, but dislikes boy's house. Girl and boy work together on construction site? Girl and girl's sister stalk boy via Myspace. Girl gets angry when reprimanded for not doing construction site things properly. Girl pretends power tools are spy toys.
I think I understand what this book was attempting to do, with the whole 'dead-mother-loved-beach-which-is-being-developed' thing, but it was not applied well at all. I rated this one star simply because I am sick of this author's publishing discharge.
On the off chance that you actually want to read this book, here's a heads up - pages 80 and 81 are a glitter bomb.
This book has been read and reviewed for Reading Thru the Library.
andiabcs's review against another edition
2.0
Not one of Abbot's best. I didn't really relate with the characters at all nor did I find myself caring what appended to them. I thought it was a little rushed with parts missing so things just didn't add up. I will say that Remi was adorable, if not a little too old for his age, and I'm now officially dying for summer.
rosepetals1984's review against another edition
3.0
Every now and again, I find myself wanting to read a summer love story - I used to read a lot of them growing up and some of my favorite YA books have revolved around coming of age summer stories with a dash of romance, drama, and light hearted laughs. Sure, there were lessons to be had in the books I read, but at the same time, there are certain books where you feel like you just want to go along for the ride - catch the wave and see where it takes you.
I haven't read any of Hailey Abbott's other books, but this one I came across as a library read. I picked it up and finished it in a two hour read. First, I'll give it to Abbott in that she knows her characters very well and knows how to write a sweet summer romance. Unfortunately, I can tell that this was quite a few years old with quite many of the music references and allusions here - so to say it shows its age and carries the pop culture references a little too heavily - that's one thing I'll say.
The story revolves around a young woman named Julianne and her family. The immediate problem in the novel has Julianne noticing her new neighbors are taking over her beach, forcing people to move out and building a gym that defaces the beach she's enjoyed with her family for years, even when her mother was alive. A random encounter (or rather collision) finds her coming across and subsequently falling in love with the neighbor's son, Remi. Julianne feels torn between loving "the enemy" and wanting to keep her memories of her mother and home alive. I did have to suspend disbelief in a few points in the novel, but once I did, I found it a smooth and sweet coming of age story where Julianne has to come to terms between what she thinks is the best thing to do, and what she wants. I did like the character chemistry between Remi and Julianne. While it is somewhat "love at first sight", it is substantiated with genuine interactions and moments where you feel the characters know and understand each other.
I enjoyed it, though I think with respect to the revolving conflict, it was a bit easily resolved and the conflict between Julianne and her sister did seem somewhat juvenile for their respective ages. Still, I think it was worth the read and teens will find something to enjoy in it, as long as they're not expecting too much.
Overall score: 3/5
I haven't read any of Hailey Abbott's other books, but this one I came across as a library read. I picked it up and finished it in a two hour read. First, I'll give it to Abbott in that she knows her characters very well and knows how to write a sweet summer romance. Unfortunately, I can tell that this was quite a few years old with quite many of the music references and allusions here - so to say it shows its age and carries the pop culture references a little too heavily - that's one thing I'll say.
The story revolves around a young woman named Julianne and her family. The immediate problem in the novel has Julianne noticing her new neighbors are taking over her beach, forcing people to move out and building a gym that defaces the beach she's enjoyed with her family for years, even when her mother was alive. A random encounter (or rather collision) finds her coming across and subsequently falling in love with the neighbor's son, Remi. Julianne feels torn between loving "the enemy" and wanting to keep her memories of her mother and home alive. I did have to suspend disbelief in a few points in the novel, but once I did, I found it a smooth and sweet coming of age story where Julianne has to come to terms between what she thinks is the best thing to do, and what she wants. I did like the character chemistry between Remi and Julianne. While it is somewhat "love at first sight", it is substantiated with genuine interactions and moments where you feel the characters know and understand each other.
I enjoyed it, though I think with respect to the revolving conflict, it was a bit easily resolved and the conflict between Julianne and her sister did seem somewhat juvenile for their respective ages. Still, I think it was worth the read and teens will find something to enjoy in it, as long as they're not expecting too much.
Overall score: 3/5
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