I really need to say something about the book cover. Before I started reading the book, I looked at the cover closely. The only thing that assured me that the person wearing the white shirt was a guy was the muscles in his arms. Other than that, I could have mistaken that as a girl, because, boy, no guy wears jeans like those. Seriously.

Anyway, I read the book, because you know the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” After I finish the book, I look at the cover again and feel my eyes playing tricks. Eli would not wear clothes like that “boy.” Wouldn’t it make so much more sense if he were in his blue hoodie? And, Auden would not wear that pink polka-dotted dress. The cover shows the exact opposite of what the two of the are supposed to be. Or was that the point? Was the cover supposed to be depicting some hidden meaning? I don’t know…I think it’s still strange. I simply can’t get over it.

Okay, enough of that. And, no, my rating is not 3 stars just because of the cover. First of all, it took me a while to get into the book. I kind of was just reading, and not caring at all about Auden’s life and her problems. The book got my attention only toward the end.

Also, I kept realizing how Auden was somewhat like Macy in Sarah Dessen’s other book, The Truth About Forever. Both of them were escaping their life and problems (Macy, her father dying, and Auden, her parents’ divorce) by studying. It was the one thing that was they were good at, because all it required was working hard. And even, Jason Talbot was in this story!

There is always Dessen’s formula people talk about. So far, I read five book by her, and I’m starting to realize how true that is, how her books follow the same formula only with different characters and their different hobbies.

I liked the humor, and I liked some of the characters like Adam and Maggie. But overall, I was actually disappointed by this book. It just didn’t live up to the mark; it wasn’t there high up with Just Listen, The Truth About Forever, and This Lullaby.