Summary:
When best friends Dessy and Veronica arrive in Prague for a prestigious writing workshop, their priorities diverge. Dessy, fragile from a recent breakup, has come to mend her broken heart by honing her craft. Veronica has just dumped her boyfriend and plans to blow off the workshop. She’d rather master a different subject—boys. Veronica gets right to work on her “man-wall”— one paper cutout for every hot-dude she meets— and embarks on her mission to cover a wall of their dorm by summer’s end. At times, Dessy thinks her friend might be a genius. At others, Veronica seems more like an agent of chaos. As if their love lives weren’t complicated enough, soon a homicidal suitemate is bent on killing Veronica and Dessy, and both girls are hiding secrets that could wreck their friendship. Well, no one ever said breaking hearts was a simple craft. . . .
Review:
When reading the summary of this novel, I became really interested in it. It seemed like a great summer read and really original I will admit while it is that, I was somewhat disappointed in the novel as a whole. While Tracy did present an interesting plot, there was just something missing within the characters. I couldn't connect- even with the Veronica and her "man-wall" (which wasn't played out as much as I had expected), I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it was because there wasn't enough background info. Plus, Veronica seemed to always be 20 levels above everyone else in the drama department, which made her somewhat unenjoyable. Unfortunately, I felt because of this, Dessy's natural behavior was inhibited, due to her having to handle and react from Veronica's action. As a whole, this novel was about Dessy finding herself, but one of the main reasons why she having trouble doing so is that she so attached to Veronica, she couldn't be herself.
Aside from the main characters, the plot as a whole just didn't live up to my expectations. A summer in Prague seemed really fascinating, but unfortunately there were only a few highlights from me, and most of these were found at the end of the novel. I think what I didn't enjoy with this novel wast that it seemed to be told from the view of the sidekick friend, but the majority of what she had to say was centered around her best friend, not herself.- a sidekick telling a sidekick's story. There was just so much more to Dessy, I'm sure, but even when she's the center of attention, Veronica's still stealing the show. Unfortunate.
My Ratings:
Plot: B
It was really original, however, parts that didn't seem so important were drawn out, while parts that seemed important were cut short.
Characters: C
As I said, I saw the potential in Dessy, as well as supporting characters such as Roger and Waller (two student on the trip). However, the eclipse that was Veronica, really overshadowed everyone, and not in a good way.
Cover Art: B
Really cute and sweet. Doesn't really match the storyline though.
Length: C
Seemed too long for the storyline. There seemed to be a lot of fillers, which really drug things out.
A unique storyline, I give this novel:
Three Stars.
Pick up A Field Guide for Heartbreakers out June 1st!
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