Book Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

Summary: 

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she’s single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, stalked by her ex’s frat brother, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Her econ professor gives her an email address for Landon, the class tutor, who shows her that she’s still the same intelligent girl she’s always been. As Jacqueline becomes interested in more from her tutor than a better grade, his teasing responses make the feeling seem mutual. There’s just one problem—their only interactions are through email.

Meanwhile, a guy in her econ class proves his worth the first night she meets him. Nothing like her popular ex or her brainy tutor, Lucas sits on the back row, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. At a downtown club, he disappears after several dances that leave her on fire. When he asks if he can sketch her, alone in her room, she agrees—hoping for more.

Then Jacqueline discovers a withheld connection between her supportive tutor and her seductive classmate, her ex comes back into the picture, and her stalker escalates his attention by spreading rumors that they’ve hooked up. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy. 

Release Date: May 25, 2012

Age Group: Mature YA

Source: Purchased

Review:
Oh, I am so in love.  I absolutely loved this book!  I saw it on BN.com under new YA releases.  It was only $3.99, and I liked the summary, so I thought, "why not?"  I am so happy I took a chance on a new author!  I could not put Easy down...it was just one of those compulsively readable books for me.


I really felt for Jacqueline.  She wants to go to a music school to pursue a career in classical music---she plays the upright bass---but instead follows her high-school boyfriend to his college.  All to be unceremoniously dumped when Kennedy decides he needs a chance to sow his wild oats and have the freedom of sleeping around to have a 'real college experience.'  So now Jacqueline's stuck at a college she didn't want to attend, and she can't bring herself to attend the one class she and Kennedy share.  She can't stand to see him flirting with other girls while her heart is broken.  She misses the mid-term and is shocked and dismayed to learn that she is failing a class!

Jacqueline's professor sets her up with a tutor, and they begin a friendship over email.  Sometimes she thinks Landon is flirting with her, but in her fragile emotional state, she's not sure.  At the same time, she is crushing on a 'bad boy' in her economics class, Lucas.  He's the antithesis of everything she thought she wanted, but Jacqueline has a real connection to him.

And then, things start to get tricky.  Jacqueline is torn between the two boys.  And all the while, one of Kennedy's frat buddies is stalking her, determined to finish what he started when he attempted to rape her at a frat party and Lucas came to her rescue.  And then, to make matters even more complicated, Kennedy decides he wants to get back together.  I'm not going to say any more because I don't want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that Easy is not just a simple love story.  There are major themes, such as date rape, self-defense, and even judging people by their appearance, worked into the novel.
 
Webber pulls all of these threads together and weaves them into a story that I just couldn't put down.  It was so, so good!  My only complaint was when the book ended.  I wanted it to be longer, just so I could stay in Jacqueline's world a little longer.  The chemistry between Jacqueline and her two guys was very well-written, and enough to satisfy readers used to more adult novels.

Easy is definitely a book that I would read again, and would recommend it to anyone looking for an excellent contemporary fiction novel.  It's one of my favorites of 2012!