My Kind Of Crazy is centred around Hank Kirby, a high school senior who just can’t seem to catch a break. His mum and brother died when he was twelve and his dad has just kind of shut off from the world. Hank’s kind of a loser and can’t seem to do anything right. So obviously, when he decides to ask the girl he fancies to the prom by means of a bunch of sparklers in her front garden, it all goes horribly wrong.
I really liked this book. Like, I really liked it. It spoke to me on so many levels – the humour, the characters, the romance – it was a really brilliant read and one of my favourites so far this year (and okay, so we’re only in March, but I think I’m going to remember this book for a while to come).
The thing I probably loved most was the writing. It was spot on for the story the author was trying to tell and it sounded like she had immense fun writing this novel. Too often, issues books assume that because they’re dealing with serious subject matter, not one speck of humour or levity is allowed in. I powered through this book in a day and a half – that was how good the writing was. It totally made me think and sympathise with the characters, but at the same time it just pulled me along like a freight train.
And I loved the characters. I’d say this book was equal measures plot and character based, which is something you don’t see all that often. Too often one is sacrificed in favour of the other, and that really didn’t happen here. I really (like, really) loved Hank, Peyton and Nick and even Monica (so inappropriate, though). And I also really liked that the object of Hank’s promposal wasn’t like a stereotypical mean girl. Obviously she wasn’t as awesome as Peyton (because otherwise it would have been a whole other book), but she’s not Regina George, either. Seriously, these characters just walked off the page. Loved them.
The main plotline was kind of a romance, but there were a whole bunch of other strands as well – the nightmare of having limited opportunities in life, parental neglect, mental health – and all of them felt fleshed-out and dealt with well. If I had one criticism, it would be that a lot of things got tied off too neatly at the end, but I was glad to see everyone (including nipple-tassle Monica) get an HEA.
I will definitely be looking out for future books from Robin Reul.
4.5 stars
I received a copy of My Kind Of Crazy in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Sourcebook, Robin Reul and Netgalley.