This Book Will Change Your Life
By: Amanda Weaver
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pages: 170
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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Take a chance and change your life…
College was supposed to be where Hannah’s hard work paid off, but the major in honors chemistry she’s been working towards since childhood is slipping away. Worse, she’s not sure she wants it anymore. Salvation comes from an unlikely place—a used bookstore and Ben, the passionate college senior who works there.
Ben’s trapped in a life mapped out for him. Trapped in a future career as a lawyer to make his father happy. Trapped pursuing a girl he doesn't even like because she fits into a world he doesn’t want, but can’t escape. But then he meets Hannah. And for the first time, he knows what it means to truly want something.
So he gives in to being her friend. Then to wanting her. Then to kissing her. And within the freedom of his impulsivity, both of their carefully planned lives begin to fall apart...
I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. This in no way shape or form influenced my review of this book.
First Impressions
The title was definitely the first thing to catch my eye with this book. I love to read books with characters who love to read and I had a feeling that’s what this was going to be. The cover is pretty cute as well. It definitely has the cover of a romance/new adult book, so I knew it would be on the light side. I was excited to read it on my vacation!
What I thought
This is definitely a nice light fluffy book. It’ surprisingly short and I think that, unfortunately, that is a shortcoming. It was nice to be able to read it quickly, but I think that this book could’ve been a lot better if it had delved a little deeper and was a little longer.
I also feel like this book is the perfect example of a New Adult novel. Hannah is a freshman in college and Ben is a senior. On an unexpectedly rainy day, Hannah ducks into a used bookstore for shelter. Once in the store, she meets Ben, the cute bookstore employee. Hannah shares that she never reads for fun and Ben, an English major and avid reader is appalled. He immediately decides he needs to find a book for her and when he gives it to her he states that the book will change her life.
One thing that I loved about this book was the references to real books and the discussions that the characters had about them. I loved that Hannah, a non-reader, was turned onto reading by someone who was so passionate about reading. I always hope that I can do that with people who I meet who say that they aren’t big readers, so it was great seeing a character who did this as well. I also liked both Hannah and Ben. I thought that their relationship was cute and I liked that their struggles with college were realistic.
My biggest issue with this book was that everything seemed so superficial. If this book had been twice the length, I would have been able to get to know the characters better and the relationship between Hannah and Ben could’ve been more nuanced and realistic. It all seemed a bit quick and any changes they made all were quick. There were also difficulties with Ben’s dad, and because of the length of the book, it seemed like all resolutions happened in a page. There was no development prior to the arguments and then things seemed to be fixed in a moment. Because there was no development, a lot of the time it felt like the characters were reading from a script and didn’t really feel the way that the author wanted them to.
If you enjoy New Adult novels, this is definitely a cute book to pick up. I would also say that it’s a good beach read, even though we are at the end of beach season. I read this on vacation and it was the perfect book. It was quick, light, fun, and easy to read. There were some shortcomings in the character and story development, but it still manages to be enjoyable. I wouldn’t re-read this, but I would definitely read more about these characters. I am curious to look into more by this author as well.