ARC Review: Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publishing Date: June 9th, 2015
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 320 pgs
ISBN: 9781481432238
Source: Received from Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review



Summary from Goodreads:

Before:

Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey's parents decided to move away, she couldn't wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn't ready to let her go...

After:

Now it's senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David's family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey's second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.

Told in alternating sections, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE is a charming and romantic debut about loving, leaving, and letting go.

My Review:

This book alternates between present day where Kelsey is in a new school with a new group of friends and a new boyfriend and the past when Kelsey is best friends with David. Something happened between Kelsey and David and they stop speaking for quite some time. Now David is back in Kelsey's life for senior year and things get a little messy.
This book is a fun YA contemporary and it is ripe with sexual tension. You know from the beginning there is something between Kelsey and David and throughout most of the book they are both too stubborn to do anything about it. It is a fun summer read that is quick to get through but I can't say that I loved it too much. For me this book is okay but not stellar. I think that it's a story that has been done before with the love triangle and teen miscommunication and this why it didn't wow me. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy it while I was reading it. Like I said it's a fun book and it keeps your attention while you're reading it but I just don't think this is a story that will stick with me for a long time. This may be one of those times as an adult reading YA that the book/story isn't as complicated as I would like. I think that teen readers will be able to connect to the story a little more than I was able to. Overall I'd say it's a fun beach read that is enjoyable while reading.