jbojkov's review
3.0
First, let me say, this is the first book I have won through the Giveaway program from Goodreads. So thank you to Goodreads, St. Martin's Press, and Girffin Teen for the advance copy of The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash. I was so excited to receive my copy in the mail! A big thank you to all parties.
Now for the book. I admit that I am notorious for judging a book by it's cover and this book was no exception. Based on the cover alone-to me- it looks like a light-hearted, fun read- it is not. This is a fairly serious book about very serious issues: alcohol abuse, poverty, hit-and-run accidents, and cancer. So on some level, I was a little disappointed in the content of the book- but that was my fault for giving more credence to the cover than how the book is described in the synopsis.
Overall, this was a pretty good book. I liked the characters and the story was decent. It was not a difficult book to read. I think I could hand this to some of the older teens who come to the library where I work and they would like the book. However, it does have some intense scenes and strong language- so I don't think I'd hand this to anyone under grade 9.
My biggest quibble with the book was some things that were just not believable to me. The characters sometimes were not consistent- for example, Bash is on the verge of out-and-out poverty and yet he never seems to run out of gas for his car of spending money to pay for snacks, etc. But the biggest inconsistency is how Bash is bailed out at the end by the father of the boy who is the actual culprit in the hit and run incident. I mean this kid is getting bailed out constantly and then his dad suddenly decides that he's going to protect Bash and expose his son? It just didn't seem to fit the story. I think it was the only way that the author could get her character out of trouble.
Also, I don't know that I believe that Birdie would be able to accept Bash after she learns of his involvement in the accident that almost caused the death of her little brother. I just can't believe it. I think most people are fiercely loyal to their family and that would trump her attraction to Bash.
But it's not a bad read- it's just not the best I've read. I read a lot of YA so it needs to be exceptional to receive more than 3 stars from me.
Now for the book. I admit that I am notorious for judging a book by it's cover and this book was no exception. Based on the cover alone-to me- it looks like a light-hearted, fun read- it is not. This is a fairly serious book about very serious issues: alcohol abuse, poverty, hit-and-run accidents, and cancer. So on some level, I was a little disappointed in the content of the book- but that was my fault for giving more credence to the cover than how the book is described in the synopsis.
Overall, this was a pretty good book. I liked the characters and the story was decent. It was not a difficult book to read. I think I could hand this to some of the older teens who come to the library where I work and they would like the book. However, it does have some intense scenes and strong language- so I don't think I'd hand this to anyone under grade 9.
My biggest quibble with the book was some things that were just not believable to me. The characters sometimes were not consistent- for example, Bash is on the verge of out-and-out poverty and yet he never seems to run out of gas for his car of spending money to pay for snacks, etc. But the biggest inconsistency is how Bash is bailed out at the end by the father of the boy who is the actual culprit in the hit and run incident. I mean this kid is getting bailed out constantly and then his dad suddenly decides that he's going to protect Bash and expose his son? It just didn't seem to fit the story. I think it was the only way that the author could get her character out of trouble.
Also, I don't know that I believe that Birdie would be able to accept Bash after she learns of his involvement in the accident that almost caused the death of her little brother. I just can't believe it. I think most people are fiercely loyal to their family and that would trump her attraction to Bash.
But it's not a bad read- it's just not the best I've read. I read a lot of YA so it needs to be exceptional to receive more than 3 stars from me.
heykellyjensen's review
This was slow going until about page 100. I didn't particularly find myself interested in either character. Not bad, but definitely not for me. It's a romance built upon tragedy, with two families who are struggling with death and destruction, along with financial woes (which was refreshing, though it made Kyle, the rich kid, much more of a stereotype than a fully-fleshed character, and he needed much more depth to make the impact of his part of this greater). Birdie's chapters with the attempt at cleverness at the end of each didn't come across as authentic as they could have.
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