October 18, 2015

Book Review: THE LIBBY GARRETT INTERVENTION by Kelly Oram


Book:  The Libby Garrett Intervention
Author:  Kelly Oram
Publisher:  Bluefields
Genre:  Young Adult Fiction, Romance
Due Out:  October 24, 2015

Blurb from Goodreads:

Libby Garrett is addicted to Owen Jackson's hot lovin'. But the sexy, popular college basketball player doesn't appreciate all of Libby's awesomeness. He refuses to be exclusive or even admit to people that they're dating. The relationship is ruining Libby and she's the only one who can't see it. 

When Libby's behavior spirals completely out of control, her best friend Avery Shaw and the rest of the Science Squad stage an intervention hoping to cure Libby of her harmful Owen addiction. They put her through her very own Twelve Step program—Owen's Anonymous—and recruit the help of a sexy, broody, hard as nails coffee man to be her official sponsor.

Adam Koepp has watched Libby Garrett for years. How could he not notice the sassy girl with the purple skateboard and helmet plastered with cat stickers? But in all the years he's crushed on her, Libby has failed to take notice of him. Why would she when he was just a nobody high school drop out who served her apple cider several times a week? Especially when she was hooking up with a guy like Owen Jackson—a guy with a college scholarship and more abs than Kyle Hamilton.

Adam finally gets the chance to meet Libby when his co-worker Avery Shaw recruits him to take Libby on the journey of a lifetime. With his ability to play Bad Cop and his experience with the Twelve Step program he's the perfect candidate to be Libby's sponsor. But will he be able to keep his personal feelings out of the matter and really help her the way she needs? And will Libby hate him when he forces her to take an honest look at herself?
This follow-up companion novel to The Avery Shaw Experiment can be read as a stand alone. (But where's the fun in that?) ;)

My Review:

Going into this I had two things in minds.  One.  Kelly Oram is a good author judging by the tears I shed while reading her book Cinder and Ella. Two.  I have no idea who Libby Garrett is.  Based on the blurb, I knew that Libby is a character from Oram’s other popular book The Avery Shaw Experiment which I’ve never read so I was wondering if I should or could skip that and jump into Libby.

I’m glad I did.

The Libby Garrett Intervention is a stand alone book dealing with losing and finding oneself.  Libby is a not so typical teenage female protagonist.  She is overweight, nerdy and sarcastic (oh I love that trait the most.  All these make her so relatable to me personally because I am all these myself so 2 points for Libby).  The problem with Libby is that she is addicted to a living, breathing drug, Owen, a gorgeous jock who wants nothing more from her than hook ups.  Or as a character in the book says, Owen treats Libby "like a prostitute he doesn’t have to pay".

Enter Adam, otherwise known as the Coffee Man.  He is a close friend and co-worker of Libby’s best friend Avery.  A tattooed high school dropout with problems of his own.  He has always had a thing for Libby, so seeing her change from a confident and funny person to a desperate, I-can’t-NOT-have-sex-with-Owen is more than he can take.  One public indiscretion by Libby and Owen sends Adam to suggest staging an intervention for Libby.

A 12 step program is not exactly a good way to start a relationship, but it is a great way to end one and to make Libby see what she has become with Owen, and in the process, it helps Libby realize that she is not as unlovable as what she has believed herself to be.  Addiction though is tough to beat.  Will she keep going back to her personal version of crack (Owen)? Or move on to the person who can help her get her old self back?

One thing I love about Libby is her wisecracking ability.  She is smart as a whip and can dish it out like nothing else.  The character is LOL funny with a side of sexy.  Yes I said sexy.  She is beyond chubby (based on the description and the beautiful picture on the book cover) but she is pretty (Again based on the cover model and descriptions in the book).   The thing is, I understand perfectly her need to be the object of such adulation from a beautiful man and her need for acceptance.  After all, she grew up bullied for how she looked her entire life so having the attention of a popular jock is like a dream come true for her. 


I like how Oram settled the issue by NOT making Libby change physically.  She didn’t make Libby go on an exercise spree to lose weight, nor did she write the story as if being Fat is the reason for her problems.  In other words she didn’t resolve Libby’s dilemma with a miraculous “ugly duckling turned into a swan” angle.  Oram made sure the readers would understand that the problem here is WHAT Libby thinks of herself….and it’s not a lot.  Libby put so much stock on being unlovable because she looked a certain way, she overlooked the fact that she is beautiful in every other way.  Fat is just fat.  In the end, it is how we are as people and how we treat others that define us.  And Libby realizes that with the help of wonderful and supportive Adam.
 
Oram didn’t make Adam the typical gorgeous, Edward Cullen type of guy.  He is the anti thesis of a male protagonist: drop out, tattooed teenager, skinny and thinks himself a loser.  My heart immediately went out to him.  Adam gets Libby because he has been through the same nightmare of addiction albeit indirectly.  He is, in his own way, the perfect hero.  Libby’s hero.

This is a good read with a huge helping or sarcasm, wit and laughter.  If you’re up for a book that will make you want your own Coffee Man, if not just your own coffee, then read this.   Now excuse me while I go get a tall drink of Frapuccino.

Photo Credit: All photos were lifted from Goodreads.com and the author's Facebook account



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