Official Review: The Best Thing for Me by Lauren Jackson
- kayla1080
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Official Review: The Best Thing for Me by Lauren Jackson

2 out of 4 stars
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There is never a dull moment in The Best Thing for Me. This book reads like a high school soap opera, with drama at every turn and a lot happening all the time. It is suspenseful yet weirdly light-hearted.
The main character- Emma- is an outcast and introvert at her school. She lives with her brother and her dad and loves pizza, Prison Break, and her best friend, Mel. Fortunately Mel goes to another school and is more popular there. One day, Mel invites Emma to a party and she meets Jason, one of the “It” guys at her own school, who she has a crush on. Emma and Jason hit it off, but they find that as they hang out more and more, everyone is out to make their life a living hell, mainly because of their different social circles and past.
Murder, seduction, fights, love, rape (nothing too graphic), and ghosts from the past emerge. But every major wrench thrown Jason and Emma’s way further cements their love. I do want to note though that some situations were a bit far-fetched and didn’t play out fully (I still have questions regarding some of the plot, since it jumped to the next scene pretty quick).
But throughout all the craziness, the reader sees how Emma turns from an introverted outcast to a strong, courageous woman who learns to stick up for herself and what she believes in. Even though she’s a klutz and has an immaturish attitude at times, it reminded me of first loves and the giddiness I felt when I had a crush in high school.
I like that the author Lauren Jackson switches points of view between Emma, Jason, Mel, and sometimes her brother Luke, even though it wasn’t clear at first (it switched to Jason’s point of view by putting his name at the top of a new page within a chapter, but then it wasn’t clear when it switched back to Emma.) However, Jackson played out those points of view well.
I rate The Best Thing for Me 2 out of 4 stars because while it was an entertaining read, it needs a bit more editing. I saw this book as a young adult romance novel with a creative plot line and a happy ending. I think this author will just get better with time and practice.
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The Best Thing for Me
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- bookowlie
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That's what I thought when I read that part!bookowlie wrote: Still, pizza and watching Prison Break....how can you go wrong with that?
@kayla1080 Really nice review!