If clovers and a heart on a pink background is something that appeals to you as a reader, great. If it doesn’t, well you know how the saying goes: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This novel is a truly touching and enjoyable read centered around the recovery of a 16-year-old girl named Addie from recently experienced heartbreak. But what sets this book apart is how it also shows her recovery from heartbreak in the form of an unexpected road trip through Ireland and not just Addie’s recovery from heartbreak but also the recovery from heartbreak of others who will accompany Addie on the road trip — namely, Addie’s 17/18-year-old brother Ian and Ian’s newly met Irish friend Rowan. In short, this book had many positives and just a few negatives, and overall, I’d definitely recommend this, especially for casual, young-adult readers.
Let’s start with the positives. The first thing I really enjoyed about this book was its incorporation of humor. One instance can be found with the comical descriptions of the physical fight between Addie and Ian near the beginning of the story, among many others. Another aspect I enjoyed was the whole travel theme to the story because it really made me feel that Addie’s recovery from heartbreak really was a journey and I was along for the ride. And finally, the characters. I felt that Jenna Welch did a great job of making the characters feel genuine and people one could really connect to, especially throughout the use of dialogue throughout the story. Overall, the characters felt pretty solid and felt “alive.”
Now, if I were to criticize the book, I would be nitpicking, but here goes. The first thing would be how Lina, Addie’s best friend, was introduced to the audience. To be more specific, Lina is introduced through a series of texts that she sends to Addie expressing her anger about Addie not getting to Italy to spend time with her, but what I felt to be slightly off-putting was the nature of the texts, which were focused around weird facts about cats. So overall, I’d say that Lina wasn’t introduced in the best way possible. Next, I found some parts of the book to be dull, more specifically the excerpts from the Ireland travel guide inserted throughout the story. At times, I thought they were too fact-based relative to the mostly fictional story. But who knows, readers may find the parts with the excerpts from the travel guide to be good places to take a break from reading the book.
Lastly, the cover. I’d say it probably wouldn’t appeal to all readers, but after reading the book, I realized the significance of the clover/heart, and overall, I think readers will come to realize its creativity as well. Also creative, as mentioned above, was the whole travel element to the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
So overall? I think Jenna Welch does a fine job in this book of allowing her readers to connect with the story and conveys the experiences and journey after heartbreak in a really creative way. Not a top-tier book necessarily, but if you’re looking to relax and have a good, solid book in your hands, this is your answer. Enjoy.
Review By ~ Andrew
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