Book Details
Author: Emily Wing Smith
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 290 KB
Print Length: 305 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0525421998
Publisher: DUTTON CHILDREN'S (April 28, 2011)
Book Summary
What's worse than getting dumped? Not even knowing if you've been dumped. Joy got no goodbye, and certainly no explanation when Zan--the love of her life and the only good thing about stifling, backward Haven, Utah--unceremoniously and unexpectedly left for college a year early. Joy needs closure almost as much as she needs Zan, so she heads for California, and Zan, riding shotgun beside Zan's former-best-friend Noah.
Original and insightful, quirky and crushing, Joy's story is told in surprising and artfully shifting flashbacks between her life then and now. Exquisite craft and wry, relatable humor signal the arrival of Emily Wing Smith as a breakout talent. (lifted from goodreads.com)
Original and insightful, quirky and crushing, Joy's story is told in surprising and artfully shifting flashbacks between her life then and now. Exquisite craft and wry, relatable humor signal the arrival of Emily Wing Smith as a breakout talent. (lifted from goodreads.com)
Book Review
Rating: 3/5
Back When You Were Easier to Love is a clean romance read. When I say clean it means that it doesn’t involve any sex, drugs, and booze (not directly anyway). Written in the first person, the narration volleyed between the past and the present things that are happening to our protagonist. Although I am in search of that one great (even chaste) kiss – it never came! I would’ve given it a 4 if ever. I mean, a good love story between two awesome people deserve an itty-bitty intimacy.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book. The first chapters will make you curious what really happened to Zan. Joy, herself, spends her time in contemplating and obsessing over her boyfriend Zan who left without any word. She is convinced that it is not because of her, but because of the perfect little Mormon town they live in. To find closure, she decided to find Zan.
Joy enlisted Zan’s best friend Noah to help her. The both of them set off to find him and the road trip is where the real story takes place. The both of them started to talk and know more about each other. Joy finally knew the real story about the birthday present and boy, was it a real revelation. I just hated the fact that she was in a big DENIAL. She wanted to know firsthand and never really anticipated that the reality could hurt her. Yet, I was glad (and so was Joy) that Noah was there with her in this trip.
There was a touch of religion into this book, but don’t worry for those who aren’t comfortable reading about it because this book isn’t that preachy. The author placed you into the life of religious Mormons in the town called Haven but do not push the faith down your throat.
Back When You Were Easier to Love is a story about a girl who tries to find herself and answers to questions. It is a journey to self-discovery and to remind its readers that there is more to this world that what meets the eye. It is about someone who’s world revolves around a certain relationship and found herself lost once the relationship is gone. Sound familiar right? A lot of us have this type of relationship and this makes it more real.
And finally what I love MOST about Back When You Were Easier to Love is Joy’s realization that she was better than Zan or being stuck to Zan.
Favorite Quotes
But I loved the library simply because it was a library. I love libraries. I like reading, but I love libraries. Being surrounded by books makes me feel safe, the way some people need trees or mountains around them to feel secure. Not me – nature’s not what I cling to. I cling to books.
I hate it when people say they’re trying to be your friend. You shouldn’t have to try to be somebody’s friend. Either you like someone or you don’t. Either you want them as a friend or not. Making friends isn’t like trying for the lead in the school play.
A person should try to understand dreams. A person should take warning from them.
“Let me guess, you’ve wanted to build your own ark ever since you learned about the guy you were named after?”
Being soaked alone is cold. Being soaked with your best friend is an adventure.
How do you make it better when you went somewhere and you didn’t know it then, but you do now?
I guess the whole world is made up of things coming together and things falling apart.
ChuCha©
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