2013 Reads: Twenty-Four {Beautiful Disaster - Jamie McGuire}

I really had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book. 

Seriously.

All I knew was that there was this new genre - New Adult - and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. 

And? Well, I saw. 

WHAT WAS WRITTEN

Abby Abernathy is a good girl with a past. Going to school at Eastern University was supposed to put enough distance between her and her previous life. A fresh start, a chance for her and her best friend to recreate themselves.

That is until she meets Travis Maddox. The resident bad boy of Eastern University. He's lean, good looking, and covered in tattoos and he's been with just about every girl on the campus. He spends his nights fighting in an underground UFC-style floating fight ring - in which he's the top dog and makes a lot of money. 

Enter the twist: Abby's best friend is dating Travis' best friend. However, Abby is completely uninterested in Travis - which makes her completely appealing to him. Which means that Abby's perfect plan for her future self is put to the test.

WHAT MY BRAIN HAS TO SAY ON THE MATTER

New Adult is a crazy, crazy genre. Here's the basic recipe (as I see it at this pint): you take a YA novel, put the characters in college, and add in a healthy dose of fan fiction writing (hey, this genre is all about the relationships). It's actually rather intriguing You can totally imagine this being one of your college friends and watching their relationship unfold. You can imagine the late night conversations, the tears, the fights, the distraught 'it's over forever' discussions (but not really), and the make-ups.

Basically, this book is like watching a train wreck. You can see it about to happen. And then as it happens, you can't look it away and you can't put the book down. But, at the same time these books are intriguing because they feel so real. Abby or Travis could be your best friend. Heck, they could even be you. This book feels so real - probably because it is so simple - and that is what keeps you reading page after page. You want to know if this seemingly real relationship could happen and could work.

Sure, Beautiful Disaster has its flaws. It's fairly predictable. Abby is the bad-girl-turned-good in love with the bad-boy who will probably break her heart. He's tattooed and broken. They try the just friends route, and surprise! Yes. It's packed with cliches. But it all makes sense when it's packed into this book. You're able to look past the predictableness and the  cliches because you're hooked from the beginning.

Yes, I enjoyed this book. Not because it was great literature - it was pretty far from that - but because it was entertaining and hooked me from the start. It had relatively little plot (will they get together? will they stay together? does he love her? does she love him?), but it works because it is escapism in book form. It takes you out of whatever else is going on in your day and it entertains you. Which is why I think I enjoyed it as much as I did - because I needed that escapism this summer.

It's a beach read, really. And a good one at that.

And sometimes all you need is a good beach read. 

THE NITTY GRITTY

Title: Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1)

Author: Jamie McGuire

Genre: New Adult, Chick-Lit 

Medium: Paperback, 418pp

Publisher: Atria Books (14 August 2012)

Date Read: 22 June 2013

Source: Purchased, Barnes & Nobel

Recommended For: College +, New Adult Enthusiasts, Fan Fiction Readers

Challenges: Goodreads

First Line: Everything in the room screamed that I didn't belong.

Favorite Line: I had died and woken up in High School Musical.