Love and Leftovers Review

Author: Sarah Tregay
Release Date: January 1 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Most appropriate for ages: 12+
How I got it: Traded with Shanyn 

My wish is to fall cranium over Converse in dizzy, daydream-worthy love.  

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.  

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?  

Love and Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl’s journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole.

Love and Leftovers introduced a great new verse author to watch. I loved Tregay's organic way of incorporating the style of verse writing in Love and Leftovers, and I loved her writing in general, really.

Marcie is one of those characters that could best be described as The Lovable Screw-Up. You watched her make mistake after mistake, but you continued to support her and enjoy her character immensely. And what really surprised me in the best kind of way was how developed some of the side characters were. Normally, you don't get ANY of that in verse novels, but Love and Leftovers was one of the exceptions.

I can't say I was a fan of the ending, however. I mean, I'm all for happy endings and stuff, but the ending of Love and Leftovers just seemed too happy to me, especially for a book that had done a pretty darn good job with keeping the book realistic. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Love and Leftovers is a great addition to the small world of YA verse novels. I enjoyed it quite a bit and would recommend it to verse newbies and old fans alike, and I'll definitely be on the look-out for Tregay's next book.

Plot: Realistic and light, though not too light.

Characters: I enjoyed them all, actually.

Writing: Very good.

Ending: Eh...

Kid friendly? There were mentions of sex and heavy make-out scenes. I think there may have been some swearing, as well.

Overall:

No one got a chance to stop me from reading this because I read it in a sitting.

Like with most verse books, Love and Leftovers was a super fast read. Even though the novel had its flaws (mainly the ending) I really did enjoy it, and I'd recommend it to fans of romance.