Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

Title: Point of Retreat (Slammed #2)

Author: Colleen Hoover

First published: 2012

Recommended for: teens/young adults, tragedy + romance fans, poetry fans

Date Read: 1st November 2012

Rating: 4.5/5

Of course I loved this book (like I did the first one)! I love seeing the characters grow so much in this book. I love the relationships that develop between Lake and Calder and Will and Kel. I love the love that Lake and Will not only share with each other, but their brothers. They are a family. I love how this book doe explore what a family is and even though Will and Lake’s situation is unlikely, I think this questions us to think about the modern make-up of couples in today’s society. We see how people don’t agree on many views in regards to families today, especially at the dad’s breakfast when Will goes for not only Caulder (his brother), but Kel and Kiersten.                           I really did like how more depth was added by  subtly discovering the issue of bullying. I love how Kel and Caulder stand up for Kiersten and it shows how hard it is to stand up to bullies for young kids today.

I just love the characters, and the addition of new characters, Kiersten and Sherrie was a breath of fresh air. I loved Sherrie’s ‘weirdnes’ and Kiersten’s funny and insightful little speeches. Kel, Caulder, Eddie and Gavin were also great secondary characters bringing lots more laughs and tears into the books. I also loved seeing stronger relationships develop between Eddie and Lake, Gavin and Will and Kel, Caulder and Kiersten. It was also nice to see Sherrie looking out for everyone, assuming a motherly role.

Again the novel was very well written. It’s simple, but keeps you captivated. I also like how we got to read from Will’s perspective, unlike how the first novel was from Lake’s perspective. I think this helped us understand and know more about Will and just really love him, and his sweetness!

The storyline is again fantastic. It’s realistic. The feelings of love, trust issues, exes and the like. It was of course filled with unexpected twists, only figuring them out just before it actually happens. I did find some of the storyline a bit predictable and ‘common’. (SPOILER ALERT) How one of Will’s exes is in his class, he doesn’t tell Lake, she finds out gets mad, we all know the story including the ending (SPOILER OVER). I know this is obviously just to keep the story going and keep you engaged but these characters cannot have any more bad luck! Their parents have all passed away by the end of the last book and now they nearly die? What I did think was real was the emotions they experienced  and their thoughts. Not only did that seem real, but you felt something too. You felt what they were feeling, which is something Hoover has retained from the previous novel. And no, it wasn’t all sad there is actually quite a lot of humour, thanks to the supporting characters, especially Kiersten.

I really did love this book and can’t wait for the third (and hopefull 4th) novel. I love Will and Lake’s story, and all the characters and emotions really make this a pretty much perfect novel!

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Title: Slammed (#1)

Author: Colleen Hoover

First published: January 2012

Recommended for: poetry fans, mature teens, lovers of romance

Date Read: 30-31st October 2012

Rating: 5/5

What a beautiful, compelling story! A beautiful love story of 2 people fighting to stay away from each other but have nothing else to hold onto but each other. I really did love the main 2 characters as they were realistic, smart and didn’t make stupid decisions-basically they  didn’t annoy me. I like how when they can’t be together, the protagonist Lakeyn, doesn’t sulk like Bella Swan in Twilight but tries to keep going with her life and knows there are so many other important things she needs to do than fuss over a one-date relationship. I really did love their powerful relationship, even when they had to be ‘just friends’.

I never liked poetry, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I thought the slam poetry was beautiful. I had never been ‘moved’ by a poem until I read ‘The Perks of Being A Wallflower’, and in this book I really started to further discover a love for poetry. I never realised how powerful poetry can be and how it can really portray all of someone’s emotions so strongly, therefore giving you a deep insight into how the characters feel and what they think.  I also really felt what the characters felt and even shed a few tears myself.

It was also beautifully written. It was a very well paced story with unexpected twists and turns, yet they were realistic and not too over the top. The only situation I found not very realistic or likely to happen is the situation with Lake and Kel and Will and Calder’s parents. I mean how much bad luck can these kids have? And there all like best friends? I also loved how the book got straight into the story, you didn’t have to wait about 7 chapters, like The Mortal Instruments series, for something to actually happen.

This book really swept me up in a whirlwind  and gripped me and my heart from the start.