Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Format: Netgalley egalley
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release date: March 26th, 2013
Date Read: March 5 to 8th 2013
Rating: ✭✭
I’ve put off reviewing this book for a while, but not for my usual reasons. I’m not scared that this will turn into a massive rant or a bunch of fangirling nonsense. No, I simply do not know how to express myself here. I know what I’m feeling but I have no clue on how to say it.
When Mallory’s boyfriend, Jeremy, cheats on her with an online girlfriend, Mallory decides the best way to de-Jeremy her life is to de-modernize things too. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in1962, Mallory swears off technology and returns to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn’t cheat with computer avatars).
The List:
1. Run for pep club secretary
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
3. Sew a dress for Homecoming
4. Find a steady
5. Do something dangerous
But simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club president–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.
The List:
1. Run for pep club secretary
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
3. Sew a dress for Homecoming
4. Find a steady
5. Do something dangerous
But simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club president–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.
I’ve put off reviewing this book for a while, but not for my usual reasons. I’m not scared that this will turn into a massive rant or a bunch of fangirling nonsense. No, I simply do not know how to express myself here. I know what I’m feeling but I have no clue on how to say it.
GOING VINTAGE is the kind of book that makes you happy while reading even though you know it’s absolute fluff. I don’t like reading fluff for some reason. My “chick lit” (and I use this term very loosely) needs something more to it. It needs well defined and formed characters. It needs wonderful character interaction. I don’t really care if it comes in dystopian, contemporary, or science fiction.
Lindsey Leavitt attempted to add the “more” into the book but she simply did not achieve what I wanted. Now, when I say I want chick-lit, it’s often very different from what other people would think of when others say the same thing.
GOING VINTAGE will please a lot of people – and has already. It’s a cute book with really awesome family dynamics – something sorely lacking in YA literature. It has an adorable romance and with an adorable love interest. My problem is with Mallory, the protagonist and more importantly, her lack of logic.
In GOING VINTAGE, Mallory’s boyfriend cheats on her with a girl he met in a Sim-like game. Mallory then assumes that her relationship issues would never have happened if it weren’t for electronics and decides to swear them off. Forever.
*facepalm*
What Mallory doesn’t seem to grasp is that a cheater is a cheater no matter where or when or how he does it. It doesn’t matter what time period it is. Whether it be the 60s or 90s, there will always be cheaters.
Now, of course, if Mallory had thought along these lines, the book wouldn’t have happened and that would be sad.
Despite her often blatant logic fails, Mallory is a sweet character. She’s not all that bright and she’s in love with the spotlight a bit too much, but she’s not a horrible person nor could ever be called one. She stands up for what believes in and she’s really a good person. She’s a pretty awesome example of a flawed, yet strangely lovable character.
She’s definitely got her heart in the right place but I think she would have benefitted from some therapy and chocolate. I don’t think she gets enough chocolate. *hands over chocolate to Mallory*
The best part of the book was definitely was Oliver who was adorable and cute and squee-worthy. He’s not my favorite or even close to my favorite but I really did like him. He was a genuinely nice guy for a genuinely nice girl – something that I don’t often say.
As I said, I loved the family dynamics to the story. They were surprisingly deep. For the most part, YA books the families are lackluster. You’d think that a story with teen protagonist, they’d have a realistic portrayal of families.
LOLNO.
For the most part, none of the books have realistic families. They always have either perfect families or families that are so messed up that they become equally unrealistic. The family is GOING VINTAGE is perfectly flawed. There isn’t a perfect family in real life and thankfully, this book shows that.
GOING VINTAGE is wonderfully fluffy and light. It’s often hilarious. There was substance to the book but I just needed more than what I got. As I said, GOING VINTAGE will be perfect for a lot of readers, but for those who need something more than mindless fluff, this might not be the book for you.
Lisbeth is an American teenager who enjoys blowing shit up in videogames and discussing decapitation in great detail. She's also obsessed with Oceana, but you're not supposed to know that.
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