Review: Flat- Out Love by Jessica Park

5 Stars

I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. When I first read the blurb, I thought, ok, this sounds kind of cute.  I added it to my must-read-list.  I didn't think twice of it until a friend messaged me on here and told me she had it to lend, via Kindle.  After just reading Beautiful Disaster, I needed something wildly different. And boy oh boy was this different, but in such a wonderful way.

For me, this book was strangely entertaining to the point where I couldn't put it down. There were so many great moments in this book... like Julie's constant comments about Matt's shirts, the facebook messages, Celeste's vocabulary, and best of all "Flat Finn". I can't even chose which part of this book I enjoyed the most.  I only know that I loved the entire book. There wasn't a dull moment! Always fun and witty and most of all...QUIRKY! That is the perfect word to describe this book: quirky. I saw that the author said that too, obviously before me, so I guess I can't take any credit for it.

Let's talk about Celeste for a minute: she is 13 with an IQ probably higher than Einstein's, yet she's a social misfit. Celeste is an amazing young woman with such a wide vocabulary that at times I had no idea what she was talking about.  However, she seems to exhibit some odd behavior.  For example, she carts around a carbon copy of her older brother, Finn, and has complete conversations with him while her family doesn't even think twice of it. I felt so bad for this poor girl. She clearly needed help and yet no one was able to help her...until Julie showed up. There were some very emotional moments between Celeste and Julie. I had tears in my eyes when Julie was trying to show Celeste how to wear lip gloss and nail polish... a very pivotal moment for Celeste and her issues with Finn. I think the funniest was when Julie was trying to take Flat Finn grocery shopping. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard!

Julie, an Ohio transplant, was now living in Boston, going to college and trying to live with the Watkins family.  That was no easy feat for her. Not only did she grow attached to Celeste, but she started to develop feelings for Finn.  However, she was dating Seth and all along I couldn't help but feel that Matt, Finn's younger brother, was becoming attracted to her. Julie is intelligent, quick-witted and wants to help Celeste. She easily adapts to this family as if she was meant to be there all along.

Matt is a replica of my husband, minus the geeky shirts. I have always joked with my hubby that he has all this knowledge in his brain...just sitting there...waiting to be needed.  And when it is needed, he is able to retreive it as if he just learned about it yesterday. And that's exactly how Matt is: incredibly bright with an ingenious sense of humor...really, a perfect package of a man if you ask me. I felt like I was reading about my hubby. Their intelligence is almost mind boggling. But that is what attracted me to my hubby in the first place...his brain...and I tell him that all the time. He must think I'm nuts when I say that. Ok, back to Matt and his geeky shirts and his devotion to his sister. I felt like Matt has concealing something. I was right, but it wasn't just the family secret...

There was a very big secret. I speculated so many ideas about what the secret could be, and I honestly didn't know until close to the very end. I know a lot readers said they realized it early on, but I was left guessing. Well, I must have a really small brain because I truly had no idea what it was...mere speculation of what it could be. I think I was too wrapped in the story to really contemplate about it. And then it hit me right as the story unfolded itself. The secret was heart achingly sad, making me shed a few tears. But have no fear! There is a bittersweet ending to this story.

I think everyone should give this book a chance. It's a story of life's many challenges and winding roads.  It's also a story of triumph. It will make you believe that while nothing in life comes easy, all of your hardwork will pay off in the end.

I also want to thank my goodreads friend, Lisa. If you hadn't messaged me about loaning this book to me, I may not have ever read it, (even though it was on my to-read list). And that would be a crying shame. Thank YOU!

Here are some parts of the book that I enjoyed:

"I'm sure he's incredibly cool. Just the word physics already has me hot and bothered."

"I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. It's the way I take them OFF that makes me better than you."

"Thinks that Twitter is like Facebook’s slutty cousin. It does everything dumb and whore-ish you’re too responsible to do."

"You can look back now and see how you should have known, but you were focusing on the facts instead of the feeling."

"Julie peered into the car as the window lowered. “I see a maniacal-looking guy with brightly-colored candy in one hand, and he’s waving a bloody sickle with the other. Oh! He’s beckoning me to the car. This must be my ride.”

“Well, this is obviously the apartment I was meant to have. No wonder the one in Jamaica Plain didn’t work out. It was a sign from God that I needed to find this gem. The cockroaches are a nice bonus. I’ve always wanted to live with animals. And I can make extra money working as a hooker. Those girls outside looked really friendly, and I’m sure they’d take me under their wing and teach me the tricks of the trade. Pardon the pun.”