99 Days Review

99 Days
Katie Cotugno
Balzer + Bray
April 2015
3/5

For the most part, I really enjoyed the writing and I think it was a creative concept. However, I wasn't able to connect with Molly at all and wasn't a fan of the decisions that she made. All in all, this is a quick read that always holds your interest, I just had a problem with how some of the events turned out in the end. I've also made it clear that I hate love triangles and I thought this one wasn't going to be one of those types of stories, but unfortunately it did become one and that made me less interested in the story completely.

Molly ran away from her town after her longtime boyfriend Patrick discovered her affair with his older brother Gabe through a book that her mother wrote about Molly's experiences. Now Molly is back in the town for the summer before she leaves for college and she's trying to make amends with the people that she hurt. Gabe is back for the summer from college and seems to be the only person who is on her side and sticks up for her. Then Molly becomes confused for her feelings for him when the boy she loved for so long, Patrick, returns for the summer.

I don't want to ruin too much here but the one thing I hate more than love triangles in YA books is cheating. Yes, Molly made a mistake and I don't think that she deserves to be treated so poorly when Gabe is treated exactly the same way. I like that he also has a problem with this and I instantly liked him when he took responsibility for his involvement in the affair. I really loved Gabe and felt like he truly cared about Molly in a way that his brother never did but Molly isn't as aware of this as she should be. One thing that I did enjoy was the female friendship here. Molly has to repair a lot of friendships that she abandoned when she took off and ran away from all her problems. She slowly gains back the friendship of her old best friend and gains a new friend in Tess, who also happens to be her ex boyfriend Patrick's new girlfriend. This obviously is an interesting and sort of cliché friendship, but I like that they do bond since most new girlfriends in YA books seem to have it out for the old girlfriend but Tess is nothing but nice.

I recommend 99 Days specifically for people who love contemporary romance YA. If you have an issue with love triangles or cheating, I would recommend just passing up on this one even though there still may be some parts of the book that you might enjoy. Most of the reviews that I've read for this one are either people who absolutely loved the book or it just didn't click for them. I say that you give it a shot because it isn't a heavy read, you'll likely finish it in just a day or two so check it out if it sounds like something you'd be interested in!