Published December 30, 2013
About the Book:
An extraordinary portrait of true love that will move anyone who has a first love story of their own. Axi Moore is a "good girl": She studies hard, stays out of the spotlight, and doesn't tell anyone how all she really wants is to run away from it all. The only person she can tell is her best friend, Robinson--who she also happens to be madly in love with.
When Axi spontaneously invites Robinson to come with her on an impulsive cross-country road trip, she breaks the rules for the first time in her life. But the adventure quickly turns from carefree to out of control after the teens find themselves on the run from the police. And when Robinson suddenly collapses, Axi has to face the truth that this trip might be his last.
A remarkably moving tale very personal to James Patterson's own past, FIRST LOVE is testament to the power of first love--and how it can change the rest of your life.
My Thoughts:
Didn't love it. I liked it okay, though. James Patterson's non-typical books (i.e. his books for women that are kind of Nicholas Sparks-ish), at least the ones I have read, started off great with Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. I think I sobbed more over that book than any other I have ever read. Yes, even more than The Fault in Our Stars and Me Before You. They have progressively gone downhill since, though. This one really has issues. It is very obviously going for the fans of The Fault in Our Stars, but it is seriously lacking in comparison. There are so many insanely implausible things that happen in this book that it really detracts from the story. It just doesn't all add up or seem believable at all. Also, I feel offended for Janie mentioned in the dedication. I don't see how this book serves her memory well. I gave it three stars on Goodreads, and that was probably overly generous. It was okay enough to keep reading, but I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. I say to other readers, skip this one!
I remember reading a few years ago about how he started using (poorly compensated) ghostwriters for SO MANY of his books & that's how so many are cranked out & are not necessarily all that good (or at least not very nice deals for the people doing the actual work). Maybe the ones you read before were more by ACTUAL-him & the more recent ones are not?
ReplyDeleteThis one shows it as being by him and Emily Raymond, and the dust jacket lists her as being a ghostwriter. That's probably why they have just progressively gone downhill. I guess he is at least upfront about using ghostwriters. I wonder if he just comes up with the story idea and they write it or what?
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