I am finally back with a new book review of All I Need by Susane Colasanti. Hopefully, I will be able to post reviews more often.
I have been eager to read All I Need by Susane Colasanti since its publication in May. I finally was able to purchase a copy from Barnes N Noble. I even paid extra for faster delivery.
I finished the novel within a week, reading roughly 50 pages per night. Overall, I think that All I Need is a good book and a sweet love story. I have read several reviews online including mixed reviews from readers on Goodreads.
First, I must say that I love the 80's nostalgia. All I Need is a contemporary story set in the 21st century. Seth prefers to listen to music from the late 70's and 80's than the overplayed popular music of today.
Another cool thing about the story is the skating rink in Sea Bright is 80's themed. The place plays nothing but 80's music, and they even have posters from popular 80's sitcoms such as The Cosby Show and Growing Pains. There was even a mention of a rubix cube.
Alot of young adult novels take place in high school or during the summer. I have always wanted to read a book about the college experience. The only books I've read that give readers a glimpse or reference to the college life were The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants series, LA Candy series, and some other book I read in high school in which I can't recall its title.
The chapter titles were inspired by 80's songs. I am a fan of the 80's, so I can totally appreciate the nostalgia. The chapter titles remind me of when I use to watch Degrassi: The Next Generation. All of their episode titles were named after songs from the 80's.
Sometimes when reading a book, I have gripes about the characters or the plot of the novel. It is clear that Seth and Skye are meant to be together. I found it interesting how they moped around thinking about each other for an entire year before reuniting at Sea Bright.
Once they are together again, they are constant contact. They even visit each other. Skye is the one who mostly travels to Philly to see Seth.
One of the things that bothered me about this storyline is that Skye lies to her parents about her sleeping arrangements when she visit Seth at Penn. They believe that she is sharing a room with one of Seth's female friends. However, in reality she is sleeping with Seth in his dorm room. Also, Skye's parents allow her to go on a road trip with Seth alone. There is no way my parents would have allowed me to do these things when I was her age. Different households, different rules.
There was one particular scene where Skye's parents express their concerns; however, they allow her to carry on the relationship anyway. They remained mostly in the background. My guess is that they trust Skye and believe that she is a responsible young woman, and will make wise decisions. I guess that this aspect is what a reviewer meant when she called Seth and Skye bad role models.
Throughout most of the book, the storyline seemed to be going too well. However, like real life relationships, Seth and Skye ran into problems. The honeymoon phase was over.
Things change when Seth tells Skye that he applied for an internship in Chicago. Also, Seth and Skye don't get to see each on a regular basis because Seth has to study and work extra shifts in order to pay for his education.
It's obvious that Seth and Skye come from different family backgrounds in an economic sense. Seth has to work in order to pay for his college education. Seth sometimes has to make sacrifices and wishes that he could take Skye to nice restaurants and other places when they go out on dates.
On the other hand, Skye doesn't have to worry about getting an after school job, or worry about how to pay for her college education. Skye is stressed out about getting into college and the constant fighting between Kara and Jocelyn.
Seth and Skye make valid points during their argument, but they could have communicated their feelings and frustrations in a more effective way. Skye got the idea that Seth saw her as a spoiled conceited princess.
Another problem arises when Skye drives to Philly to surprise Seth with a care package. When she arrives, she discovers Seth kissing his ex-girlfriend. You would think that they would break up and move on, but they don't. Seth and Skye overcome their obstacles and everything seemingly works out.
Skye gets accepted to Temple University in Philadelphia, so she will get to spend more time with Seth in the fall. As they hoped, they get to spend time together during the summer in Sea Bright.
Seth and Skye had to overcome a few obstacles to make their relationship work. The biggest challenges included socioeconomic differences, their long distance relationship, and ex drama. There are many people who do believe in soul mates and others do not. Some would call Seth and Skye's relationship or the plot of All I Need unrealistic. Here is what I believe in: a strong relationship can survive any obstacle.
Again, All I Need is a sweet romantic novel I wouldn't mind reading again.
I have been eager to read All I Need by Susane Colasanti since its publication in May. I finally was able to purchase a copy from Barnes N Noble. I even paid extra for faster delivery.
First, I must say that I love the 80's nostalgia. All I Need is a contemporary story set in the 21st century. Seth prefers to listen to music from the late 70's and 80's than the overplayed popular music of today.
Another cool thing about the story is the skating rink in Sea Bright is 80's themed. The place plays nothing but 80's music, and they even have posters from popular 80's sitcoms such as The Cosby Show and Growing Pains. There was even a mention of a rubix cube.
Alot of young adult novels take place in high school or during the summer. I have always wanted to read a book about the college experience. The only books I've read that give readers a glimpse or reference to the college life were The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants series, LA Candy series, and some other book I read in high school in which I can't recall its title.
The chapter titles were inspired by 80's songs. I am a fan of the 80's, so I can totally appreciate the nostalgia. The chapter titles remind me of when I use to watch Degrassi: The Next Generation. All of their episode titles were named after songs from the 80's.
Sometimes when reading a book, I have gripes about the characters or the plot of the novel. It is clear that Seth and Skye are meant to be together. I found it interesting how they moped around thinking about each other for an entire year before reuniting at Sea Bright.
Once they are together again, they are constant contact. They even visit each other. Skye is the one who mostly travels to Philly to see Seth.
One of the things that bothered me about this storyline is that Skye lies to her parents about her sleeping arrangements when she visit Seth at Penn. They believe that she is sharing a room with one of Seth's female friends. However, in reality she is sleeping with Seth in his dorm room. Also, Skye's parents allow her to go on a road trip with Seth alone. There is no way my parents would have allowed me to do these things when I was her age. Different households, different rules.
There was one particular scene where Skye's parents express their concerns; however, they allow her to carry on the relationship anyway. They remained mostly in the background. My guess is that they trust Skye and believe that she is a responsible young woman, and will make wise decisions. I guess that this aspect is what a reviewer meant when she called Seth and Skye bad role models.
Throughout most of the book, the storyline seemed to be going too well. However, like real life relationships, Seth and Skye ran into problems. The honeymoon phase was over.
Things change when Seth tells Skye that he applied for an internship in Chicago. Also, Seth and Skye don't get to see each on a regular basis because Seth has to study and work extra shifts in order to pay for his education.
It's obvious that Seth and Skye come from different family backgrounds in an economic sense. Seth has to work in order to pay for his college education. Seth sometimes has to make sacrifices and wishes that he could take Skye to nice restaurants and other places when they go out on dates.
On the other hand, Skye doesn't have to worry about getting an after school job, or worry about how to pay for her college education. Skye is stressed out about getting into college and the constant fighting between Kara and Jocelyn.
Seth and Skye make valid points during their argument, but they could have communicated their feelings and frustrations in a more effective way. Skye got the idea that Seth saw her as a spoiled conceited princess.
Another problem arises when Skye drives to Philly to surprise Seth with a care package. When she arrives, she discovers Seth kissing his ex-girlfriend. You would think that they would break up and move on, but they don't. Seth and Skye overcome their obstacles and everything seemingly works out.
Skye gets accepted to Temple University in Philadelphia, so she will get to spend more time with Seth in the fall. As they hoped, they get to spend time together during the summer in Sea Bright.
Seth and Skye had to overcome a few obstacles to make their relationship work. The biggest challenges included socioeconomic differences, their long distance relationship, and ex drama. There are many people who do believe in soul mates and others do not. Some would call Seth and Skye's relationship or the plot of All I Need unrealistic. Here is what I believe in: a strong relationship can survive any obstacle.
Again, All I Need is a sweet romantic novel I wouldn't mind reading again.
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