So since Valentine's Day just went by I decided I am going to review a romance novel as my first review. Now I should warn you I am very cynical when if comes to romances since having been single for too long makes Valentine's Day to me as Ebenezer Scrooge is to Christmas. But that doesn't mean that romances all suck, there are a few that I love and I am... still questioning if this is one of them. Also forgive me for all the typos.
James Patterson is probably the most widely read author out there. He has sold over 300 million books world wide and the number continues to grow. He is widely known for many of the books series he writes. From the crime dramas of the Alex Cross series to the YA fantasy of Maximum Ride, Patterson has written a name for himself for all ages. Not even joking, I've found his books in the graphic novel section, the kids section, the young adult section and he takes up TWO whole book shelves in the fiction section.
I'll be honest. I don't like James Patterson. His writing style comes off as too simplistic, and I don't believe he deserves his title as the World Guinness top selling author, especially since nowadays he has a SECOND AUTHORS NAME ATTACHED TO HIS.
But granted he has a fan base, and if really comes down to my personal taste.
When I picked up this book at Barnes and Nobles, I was really just doing it cause I had just finished reading The Stand by Stephen King and I needed an easy read, and I'll be honest... I don't regret buying it. There are still problems I have with it, but I'll get to those later.
So to the book...
Axi Moore is a 16 year old girl who decides OUT OF NOWHERE to run away from home with her friend and crush Robinson and go on a road trip around the country. Robinson is very charismatic and has a very energetic vibe and isn't afraid to take risks where Axi is.....at least supposed to be reluctant. I'll get to that later. Anyway, the pair goes around the country, usually by stealing cars and visit many cities like Hollywood, New York City and even Las Vegas. All the while they grow closer to the point.....they build a romantic relationship. But there is a problem. You see, Axi Moore is a cancer survivor, and she met Robinson at the hospital she was getting treatment, Robinson on the other hand isn’t so lucky. He’s dying of cancer and doesn’t have long to live. And this becomes the road trip version of The Fault in Our Stars… and A Walk to Remember… and any other Nicholas Sparks novel in existence.
(Look I know I basically gave away most of the book at this point but come on!! Killing off one of the lovers has become such a cliched plot point it just ANNOYS me!! Look I understand that authors don’t owe us happy endings, and in real life not everything is what its cracked up to be but I think I can speak for everyone when I say to authors like Nicholas Sparks and John Green that WE ARE ENTITLED TO AT LEAST ONE HAPPY ENDING THAT’S THE POINT OF CHEERING FOR A ROMANTIC COUPLE!!!)
Anyway side comment aside lol... Now to get the negative stuff out of the way.
There are a lot of problems I have with this book. The first problem is the fact that there are moments when a chapter is so rushed that in the next transition they are in a different part of the country already. Many moments are glossed over, like when the couple stop off in Beverly Hills to visit Axi’s favorite author. I swear to God the visit is literally ONE PARAGRAPH! We never know what Axi and this author talk about, we don’t know why this is her favorite author, nor does it have any significance to the plot! Axi’s character. Axi presents herself as a good girl turning into a bad girl but we only have her word that she was a good girl to begin with. We never get an example of how she was a good girl, all we know is she is breaking her nice girl charm, to go on this road trip. It’s literally revealed in the first chapter. Also, there is a poor level of depth given to her. In her back story we learn that she had lost a little sister to the same cancer she developed and as a result of that, her mother left her and her father, and her father turned to alcohol to cope with the loss. Interesting background but it doesn’t have much effect on Axi as a person. I would’ve liked to have seen a memory or an embellishment of what Axi’s family were like when they were still a solid unit. Another problem is: I mentioned that they stole a few cars in order to get around, and they almost never get caught! Oh wait, they do get caught once in Arizona but they manage to fight out of that the dumbest way possible. I won’t tell you how because I want you to read it yourself. And finally, there is Robinson. Robinson’s background is deliberately kept in the dark throughout the book, until the very end when the road trip ends at his family’s house in North Carolina. Robinson reveals to Axi he was sent to her home town of Seattle to live with his uncle while he received cancer treatment at the local hospital, well it turns out he fell in love with Axi first and decided to STAY IN SEATTLE because of her. IF THAT’S NOT OBSESSION I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS!!
Now you can all say I am just a cynical jerk who has been nit picky all the way through and you could be right. This is just a cute tear-jerking love story… which is why I still don’t regret buying it and reading it. That’s right, this book has so many flaws and yet I still ended up loving it!! Why?
This book has so much redeeming features I can’t hate it. First of all, Axi and Robinson are just adorable together. You really feel like they’ve known each other for a long time. I was very convinced that these two were in love and for reasons other than “the other one is pretty”. They have their cute moments but they have their moments when they argue. The road trip plays like a metaphor for Axi’s grief over Robinson’s cancer, throughout the book she constantly insists to herself that they will be together forever, despite knowing he won’t. We find ourselves doing the same thing in real life, trying to run away from things we don’t want to face, but knowing deep down we don’t have a choice. This is a lesson we all have to learn in our lives, and Paterson conveyed it in a very relatable way. (He did in fact dedicate this book to a girl he dated back in the 70’s but died of a brain tumor.)
So final thoughts. The book is an easy read. If you want something short, sweet and simple, check out this book. Yeah it’s rushed in a few places where it shouldn’t be and a moment or two where logic is thrown right out the window, but the romance was believable and I was really invested in Axi and Robinson’s relationship. So it’s not the best romance in the world, but I certainly don’t regret buying it.
Which is why I am nice enough to give it 3 stolen cars out of 5. (I don't use stars lol, you'll learn the joke as the blogs go on.)
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