While most seventeen year-olds work part-time delivering pizzas or whipping up frappuccinos, Brady O’Connell’s job is a little less conventional. Helping his dad with the family ‘business’ is a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly, especially when thousands of dollars are being exchanged. There are rules to be followed, timetables to be kept. But when his best friend Jay gets backstage concert tickets, and business interferes with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet their favorite band, Brady decides to break the rules, just one time.
And one time is all it takes to send his life spinning out of control.
When an envelope full of cash ends up in the wrong hands—specifically in the hands of a pretty red-head named Vivienne—things get messy in a hurry. Where Vivienne goes, a whole lot of chaos seems to follow.
But sometimes…chaos can be a beautiful thing.
From the author of Hope for Garbage comes another fast-moving, emotionally-charged tale, full of plot twists that will keep you guessing, and true-to-life characters you will root for. Most of all, this is a story of first love—crazy, chaotic first love—love that hits us hard, and never lets go.
Plot/Idea: 6 out of 10
Originality: 4 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 6 out of 10
Overall: 6.00 out of 10
Assessment:
Following his parents’ divorce, 17-year-old Brady gets involved in his dad’s business: bookmaking. Brady is a bit of a numbers savant, so he’s good at the job—until one night when a costly mistake winds up being a lucky break. What starts out as a bit of a caper, full of snappy prose and situations as funny as they are suspenseful, takes a bit of a left turn and becomes a fairly conventional teen romance. Still, the characters remain winning throughout, and young readers will find a lot to like here.
Date Submitted: August 30, 2016
Reviews
D.Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
Mature teens and new adults are brought along for an involving ride that moves well beyond a genre romance and into the realm of hijinks, adventure, and psychological understanding in a fun, thought-provoking read highly recommended for audiences seeking something different and more realistic than romance-tinged novels usually offer.