Review: Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca

Title: Last Year's Mistake
Author: Gina Ciocca
Series: n/a
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: June 9, 2015
Source: received from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Before:
Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey's parents decided to move away, she couldn't wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn't ready to let her go...

After:
Now it's senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David's family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey's second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.

Told in alternating sections, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE is a charming and romantic debut about loving, leaving, and letting go.

I was really looking forward to this novel when I first discovered it on Goodreads months ago. I kind of adore best friends romances, and the fact that the main characters fell out of favor with each other and had to work their way back to that point intrigued me immensely. Even with the possibility of a love triangle on the horizon.

Okay, so I know this novel isn't aimed at my age group. So I can look past the immature dialogue. Honestly, that aspect felt just like reading my journal from high school. So, as juvenile as some of it seemed, it was actually pretty genuine. Realistic, even. Not that that endears it to me any but I feel like points are earned for authenticity. Even if authenticity means self-absorbed teenagers making stupid decision after stupid decision.

I tend to appreciate a novel that starts in the present and sends us back in time to try to piece together what happened. Mostly because that makes it more difficult to guess what led to the divide in the first place. Last Year's Mistake is no different, except that due to all of the suspense-building, I fully expected some massive reveal. Instead, I was left disappointed by the big "misunderstanding" that led to Kelsey and David parting ways.

The issues in their relationship could have been resolved with a simple conversation, but instead, they let their imaginations run free, resulting in a lot of unnecessary drama. And they hurt other people in the process. Still, there were moments where the feels got to me, and in those moments, it was the story I was hoping for: one of friendship, loss, and second chances.

Last Year's Mistake is equal turns frustrating and adorable, and I'm still kind of on the fence about it. I liked it, but it failed to impress me as I had hoped. I think the summary set me up for failure, though, as I don't think it's the best way to portray this story. But I'm sure it's easier to sell that to readers than "angsty teenage melodrama". For what it was, though, I found myself pretty entertained.

GIF it to me straight:

I mean, it didn't wow me, but I kinda liked it anyway.

About the author:

Gina Ciocca graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in English. She lives in Georgia with her family. Gina is a member of the writing and blogging group YA Misfits. Last Year’s Mistake is her first novel.

Find Gina:

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