Lisa the Nerd

in a sentence or so: April has the chance of a lifetime - to live parent free with her best friend for an entire semester of her junior year of high school. it might be the best thing that's ever happened to her, if not for the shadiness of her boyfriend, the gnawing anxiety of her parents separation, and the surprising amount of responsibilities that come with living without parents.things are going pretty well for April. she lives with her dad and stepmom (which isn't ideal, but it's better than living in France with her mom, brother, and The Other Guy), she has a kickass boyfriend and two amazing best friends. and then her dad tells her they're moving to Cleveland. like, right now.April kicks off the Ten Things by lying to her dad and telling him that she will most definitely be supervised at Vi's house (she won't) and that she'll totally obey all of the rules her dad is leaving behind (she doesn't). but the real challenge for April is keeping all the pieces of her life together and making sure everything stays the same (she can't).i can totally see this being the plot of a teenage movie. but not one of those 'ugh, i can't believe this movie is real' movies, but one of those 'drop everything, THIS MOVIE is on!' it has a lovable cast of characters, ridiculous-yet-believable situations, and enough real life drama to ground it all and really make you care about the outcome.on the surface, this is a book about a girl who makes some face-palm worthy choices and does her best with the limited 'real world' experience she has. but on a deeper level, this book explores issues of relationships - with parents, peers, and significant others - in an authentic and hilarious way. there were times i wanted to fist bump April, times i wanted to shake sense into April, and times i was just as confused as April was with what was going on. but the best part is you care about her and her situation all the way through and root for her to the very end.for a read that's funny, definitely nails the teenage voice, presents some Big Questions and offers you some lovable characters and shenanigans along the way, definitely check this one out.fave quote: "No one was perfect. But we all did the best we could." (346)fix er up: i wonder if the book took on too many issues and left some of them at the surface. if you've read it, i'm referring to Vi's character.