Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com
After cementing their lifelong friendship with The Breakup Code, Alexia, Kelly, Raven, and Sydney are heading into the summer before their senior year.
Between Raven's depression over the four-week loss of her boyfriend, Horace, to the city of Detroit, Sydney fulfilling volunteer obligations at the local hospital and vowing to make the second round of her relationship with Drew work, not to mention Alexia being in love for the first time in her life, the former can't help but worry that she and her friends might be drifting apart.
When Alexia spots Kelly's hot new kick-boxing instructor, she sees the perfect solution to both her concerns and Kelly's state of singlehood: The Crush Code. Thirty-eight rules guaranteed to nab the guy of their dreams.
Pretty soon all four girls are trying out the code - Sydney on fellow volunteer Quinn, Raven on her new neighbor, Blake, and Kelly on her instructor, Adam; but the code can't distract Kelly from the boy she really likes.
The one boy in the world she can never have...
It's been a long time since I read a book that made me cry, but Pamela Wells does such an incredible job portraying the roller-coaster ride of emotions that come with young love. Whether reading about Alexia's uncertainty about losing her virginity to Ben, Raven's desire to remain faithful to the boy she loves while feeling intensely attracted to someone else, the thrill of new flirtations, or the pain of ultimate betrayal, I was transported into the emotions of each characters' journey.
THE CRUSHES is an excellent, heartfelt novel about friendship, first love, and surviving the difficulties life throws your way.
After cementing their lifelong friendship with The Breakup Code, Alexia, Kelly, Raven, and Sydney are heading into the summer before their senior year.
Between Raven's depression over the four-week loss of her boyfriend, Horace, to the city of Detroit, Sydney fulfilling volunteer obligations at the local hospital and vowing to make the second round of her relationship with Drew work, not to mention Alexia being in love for the first time in her life, the former can't help but worry that she and her friends might be drifting apart.
When Alexia spots Kelly's hot new kick-boxing instructor, she sees the perfect solution to both her concerns and Kelly's state of singlehood: The Crush Code. Thirty-eight rules guaranteed to nab the guy of their dreams.
Pretty soon all four girls are trying out the code - Sydney on fellow volunteer Quinn, Raven on her new neighbor, Blake, and Kelly on her instructor, Adam; but the code can't distract Kelly from the boy she really likes.
The one boy in the world she can never have...
It's been a long time since I read a book that made me cry, but Pamela Wells does such an incredible job portraying the roller-coaster ride of emotions that come with young love. Whether reading about Alexia's uncertainty about losing her virginity to Ben, Raven's desire to remain faithful to the boy she loves while feeling intensely attracted to someone else, the thrill of new flirtations, or the pain of ultimate betrayal, I was transported into the emotions of each characters' journey.
THE CRUSHES is an excellent, heartfelt novel about friendship, first love, and surviving the difficulties life throws your way.
