Review: The Vow by: Jessica Martinez

The Vow by: Jessica Martinez (Oct. 15, 2013)

432 pages

Genre: YA Fiction

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Source: I won a free ARC of this book from Goodreads First Reads! Thanks to goodreads and the publisher!

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository 

Goodreads Summary: No one has ever believed that Mo and Annie are just friends. How can a guy and a girl really be best friends?

Then the summer before senior year, Mo’s father loses his job, and by extension his work visa. Instantly, life for Annie and Mo crumbles. Although Mo has lived in America for most of his life, he’ll be forced to move to Jordan. The prospect of leaving his home is devastating, and returning to a world where he no longer belongs terrifies him.

Desperate to save him, Annie proposes they tell a colossal lie—that they are in love. Mo agrees because marrying Annie is the only way he can stay. Annie just wants to keep her best friend, but what happens when it becomes a choice between saving Mo and her own chance at real love?

My Review

                                                              

The Vow is a little above average book. It was nothing overly unique and nothing overly memorable. It was a good read but that's about it. It just fell a little flat to me when it came to the story and the characters. 

The two bests parts about The Vow, what really made it good, was that it was about friendship and its complexity, especially when dealing with that friendship and the idea of friends getting married to keep one of them in the country. Mo and Annie are friends through and through. I love their friendship and I love the cute BFF moments when the reader gets to discover how they became friends in the first place. I really did love this uniqueness aspect of the novel, what I didn't love was that it was really the only unique thing about it. It was really nice to get Mo and Annie’s POV. Although I liked them I didn't love them. These two teenagers and their not great decision/choice making skills made me completely frustrated with how they handle the whole marriage situation and don’t realize how many repercussions will follow. I know they are teenagers and I know this is a young adult book, but they were just too annoying for me to really love. This made it harder for me to really get into the story and care a whole lot about the situation they were in. Hence why I think this book was just a little above average and not as unique or amazing as I thought it would be.

I wish I had more to say but I’m out of words for this one. I don't know if it's because I didn't love the book or if it's because it has been a little while since I read it. Either way I apologize and hope this short review gives you a little insight on what I thought.

If you are looking for something with a strong focus on friendship and one that touches the subject of deportation then this one is probably a good choice for you. 

** I won a free ARC of this book from Goodreads First Reads! This did not affect my honest review. Thanks to goodreads and the publisher!

MY RATING 3.5/5