Review: Life on Hold

Quick note, this is my 101th post! This book blogging thing is so much fun and when I started I wondered if I would stick with it. The answer's YES. Yes I will. Thanks to the support of everyone following. The fact that what I say matters is mindblowingly awesome. ☺♥


Author: Karen McQuestion
Pages: 168
Publisher: AmazonEncore
Source: Free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis (from Amazon): Fifteen-year-old Rae Maddox just wants to stay in one place like everyone else, but there’s no chance of that happening—not with a free-spirited mother who thrives on cross-country moves. When the two of them land in Wisconsin sophomore year, things are off to a great start: her mom promises they’ll stay until graduation, Rae makes two good friends and finally gets a chance at love. Her newfound happiness is jeopardized when the vice-principal at the high school pairs her with Allison Daly, a new girl with a bad attitude. As Allison’s secrets unravel, and Rae’s mother gets involved, Rae is forced to take charge of her own life or risk losing everything important to her.

Life on Hold is the story of Rae, a cool sophomore in high school who's family never stays anywhere for more than a year because of her mother, Gina. Gina finds moving an adventure but Rae craves stability. It's also the story of Allison, a new girl at Rae's school that Rae has to show around and help assimilate. Allison has gone through a hard time and the principal is depending on Rae to make sure everything works out for her.

Rae's a pretty normal girl. She moves around a lot but that way she learns to quickly make friends. She loves her mother Gina but she wishes her mother would stop moving around. She gets along with most people and is all around a good, normal kid. I can easily imagine Rae as a teenager at my school.

One of the most amazing things about Life on Hold was that somehow I ended up feeling everything Rae felt. When she was annoyed, I was too. When she was happy, I was happy. When she loved and hated something I completely agreed with her. It was very easy to be pulled into her life.

I loved that this story was readable. Once starting I was completely immersed in the story and Rae's situation. Karen's writing is easy to read and her world is complicated but light. Rae's story felt real but also entertaining enough to read.

My one problem with Life on Hold was that sometimes I didn't feel much for the other characters, Allison for example in most of the book. (The end made me think otherwise.) I felt disconnected and that could be a personal problem but it prevented me from loving the story.

Overall, a nice real read. Life on Hold teaches you the importance of small, little actions and the impact they can make on someone's life. I liked it so I'm giving it 3 stars,

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