Review: Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

                                     Book: Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt
                                     Pages: 312
                                     Genre: Young Adult, Romance
                                     Source: Library

Short Synopsis: Hannah dreads going to the first day of her senior year. She doesn't want to see her ex-boyfriend Ryan, or her best friend Ava, but mostly because she's in love with Ava's boyfriend, Noah.

My Thoughts: Though I love Barnholdt's writing style, I felt that this novel sends the wrong message to its readers.

Hannah is a mess. Her boyfriend Ryan just recently broke up with her, and her best friend took a camp councilor job away from her for the summer. Hannah is depressed, and decides that staying holed up in her bedroom is the only way to avoid Ryan.
But Ava, Hannah's best friend calls Noah to come and check on her constantly. One day Noah suggests that Hannah take a job at the local diner that Noah works at. And just like that, Hannah has a summer job, while getting to know Noah better as a friend.
But things get even more complicated when Hannah spends most of her time with Noah, and she starts to fall for him. As Ava constantly tries to get in contact with Hannah, Hannah avoids Ava as she doesn't want to accept that she has fallen for Noah. Then as Hannah and Noah take a road trip to visit Ava, things go from bad to worse, and Hannah doesn't know what to do. Can Hannah admit that she's in love with Noah to her best friend?

I enjoy reading Barnholdt's writing style. Very fast paced, original and keeps me wanting to find out what happens next. But unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of this novel, at least the message that it seemed to send to its readers. 

First, I liked that Hannah, the main character, wasn't super whiny when she was dumped by her boyfriend. And though she hid for a bit when her boyfriend broke up with her, she still  remained strong, and independent.

I was a little upset with the characters, Noah and Ava, for making Hannah do certain things. First, I was annoyed that Noah made Hannah avoid telling Ava that they were together at a concert. It shouldn't have been Hannah's responsibility to lie to her best friend. I was also upset with Ava for treating Hannah the way she did when she found out that Hannah and Noah were together. Granted that it would make anyone upset about the way it happened, but as a reader, it felt a bit drastic. And how come Noah didn't get any of the blame for what happened? Overall, I loved how original and fast paced it was, I just felt that it was send the wrong message to the readers that it's okay to do what Hannah did, as there weren't any real consequences that had happened to Hannah or Noah. 

Would I recommend this book: Maybe

Rating: I give this book a 3/5.