08/19/2013
There’s a big gap between where 18-year-old Reena Montero expected to be and where she is. Instead of studying journalism at Northwestern after graduating from high school a year early, she’s living with her parents in hot, sticky Florida, taking courses at the local community college and caring for her toddler, Hannah. It’s not what Reena planned, but she’s making the best of it. Then her one love—Hannah’s father, Sawyer LeGrande—comes back to town. In a confident debut, Cotugno structures Reena’s story in alternating “before” and “after” chapters that explain how Reena and Sawyer got together, what brought them to where they are now, and where they could end up, maybe, if they can push through a tangle of guilt, anger, and complicated family connections. Cotugno draws even the minor characters well, and although Sawyer, as a reformed bad boy, is something of a stock figure, Reena is complex and appealing. It’s impossible not to root for the two of them to beat the odds. Ages 14–up. Agent: Alloy Entertainment. (Oct.)
Reena Montero never understood Sawyer LeGrande's powerful effect on her, but she certainly feels the crushing blow when he leaves town, unaware that she is pregnant with their daughter, Hannah. Reena and Sawyer's relationship has always been difficult and emotional, both when they first fell in love amidst the tragedy of losing a dear friend, and also when Sawyer returns years later, and Reena finds herself falling for him all over again. Conflicted between her seemingly uncontrollable emotions and her regrets over past choices, Reena struggles to know if she can have everything she wants from her life even though it has not followed the path she intended. How To Love chronicles two story lines in alternating chapters—"before" Sawyer leaves and "after" Sawyer's return. Yet these stories follow similar courses, wherein Reena realizes that loving Sawyer is not really a choice at all, even though their relationship is often destructive. The story travels through many common adolescent troupes—a love triangle, drunk driving, the good girl and bad boy, drugs, teen pregnancy, escaping small town life to see the world, and overcoming parent/adult conflict after a brush with death. This, at times, seems to condemn teenage choices by showing intense consequences, but also celebrates teen love and all of its messiness. While the text misses opportunities to complicate gender roles or romantic relationships, readers looking for a story of whirlwind passion amongst teen angst and a happily-ever-after drive into the sunset will not be disappointed. Reviewer: Meghann Meeusen
09/01/2013
Gr 9 Up—Sawyer LaGrande's unexplained disappearance rocked Serena Montero's world. It was love at first sight, and then he ran away and left her pregnant. Now he's back in town and ready to pick up where they left off. Serena, however, has a steady boyfriend and is now the mother of a two-year-old. She had to repair her broken heart and make peace with her very Catholic father, who does not approve of her out-of-wedlock child. She is older and wiser, but Sawyer was the love of her life. Will she make the same mistake twice? The language and content of this novel will appeal to teens, but the structure is an issue. Every other chapter is a flashback, making the plot seem choppy and disjointed. The portrayal of a Catholic Hispanic family in modern-day Florida is refreshing, but the shuffling between the present and the past may make it hard for readers to lose themselves in the characters. The story's mood is rather depressing; Serena deals with the death of her mother, the death of her best friend, Sawyer's abandonment, her child, her family's disapproval, and her father's heart attack. Yet, despite her struggles, she is still able to find her silver lining at the end of the story. How to Love may not appeal to a wide audience, but patrons who read and enjoyed Jamie McGuire's Beautiful Disaster (S & S, 2012) will find Sawyer and Serena's frustrating relationship familiar.—Jeni Tahaney, Duncanville High School Library, TX
2013-09-01
Fifteen-year-old Reena dreams of graduating early from high school and studying at Northwestern to become a travel writer, but all that takes a back seat when her forever crush, Sawyer LeGrande, turns his green-eyed gaze on her. Reena, a self-professed ice queen, has managed to keep her feelings about Sawyer to herself, but when he begins dating her best friend, Allie, everything comes rushing to the surface. A tragic event nearly derails Reena and Sawyer's romance before it can begin, but an irresistible chemistry pulls them together despite their sorrow. Reena falls fast and hard for Sawyer, but he is caught in a downward spiral of addiction that threatens to pull both of them under. Believing a separation is best for them both, Sawyer disappears for two years, leaving Reena alone and pregnant. "Before" chapters chronicle Reena and Sawyer's tumultuous romance, while "After" chapters tell of Sawyer's return and Reena's simultaneous attempts to punish him or forgive him. The clunky back-and-forth construction robs the story of its heart, throwing Reena's emotional stagnation and Sawyer's complete turnaround into question. The undeniably passionate relationship feels as flat and immature in the end as when it began. Ambitious, but sadly disconnected and undeveloped. (Fiction. 14 & up)
There are those novels, once in a spectacular blue moon, that just feel perfect. HOW TO LOVE is that book. Perfect.
HOW TO LOVE is epic. I crushed so hard on this book. A roller coaster ride with all the euphoric highs and the stomach-dropping lows of falling in love. The writing is as beautiful as the love story. I adored it!
Cotugno’s debut ambitiously, and intriguingly, follows a couple who fall in love twice, over two different time periods.
A vibrant, sparkling narrative of first love and second chances - will remind you that love isn’t ever easy, but falling for a great story is.
