Synopsis: Expect a bundle of joy—er, trouble—in this hilarious, heartwarming story from the award-winning author of Stupid Fast Geoff Herbach
Taco's mom always said, "Today is the best day of your life, and tomorrow will be even better." That was hard to believe the day she died of cancer and when Taco's dad had to move up north for work, but he sure did believe it when Maggie Corrigan agreed to go with him to junior prom. Taco loves Maggie- even more than the tacos that earned him his nickname. And she loves him right back.
Except all that love? It gets Maggie pregnant. Everyone else may be freaking out, but Taco can't wait to have a real family again. He just has to figure out what it means to be a dad and how to pass calculus. And then there's getting Maggie's parents to like him. Because it would be so much easier for them to be together if he didn't have to climb the side of the Corrigans' house to see her...
Rating: 1/5
Thoughts: *I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.*
I... I don't know what to say. In all of the long years I've spent reading, there have been very few books that have made me so frustrated and annoyed that I literally want to throw the book across the room and never pick it up again. Unfortunately, I read this book on my kindle, so I wasn't going to throw the book. Instead, I settled for aggressively shutting the cover on it.
The synopsis of Anything You Want suggests good potential. Teen pregnancy, unsupportive/absent families, and still a positive outlook on life? Sounds great, huh? Well.... no.
Reading this, I found myself frequently cringing and almost giving up on the novel. To be honest, the only thing that allowed me to finish this book was the idea of writing a review when I finished. I wasn't going to let my thoughts on this novel stay locked away in my head forever. Others need to know as well.
So... I think that the main problem I had with this novel was the writing style that results from the POV of the novel. It's told directly from Taco's point of view. As I said on a "Currently Reading Sunday" a few weeks ago, I honestly think that "Taco" has some mental problems. He's so optimistically pleasant, even in the worst situations. In some characters, such a child, it could be endearing. In Taco, it's the most annoying thing. He's so madly in love with his girlfriend that he gets himself into serious trouble in so many ways, including police incidents and the pregnancy that this book is about. He's immature, does completely idiotic things, and there are some sections where calls himself, other characters, and possibly the reader a dingus. Thing is, coming from an Econ class where dingus almost became a term of endearment, it's a bit weird to hear it like this, used in a strange grammatical way. It just didn't flow right.
We do get to see Taco mature a little bit throughout the novel, as he comes to terms with certain elements of his life and makes responsible choices that help him and those around him. However, I still couldn't find it in myself to enjoy the novel. I think I kept flipping pages just so I could see how the whole semi-idiotic affair would end (note: While I was not very impressed, I was satisfied, all things considered.) I'm not trying to malicious in this review; this is my honest opinion about the novel. I won't say that it was the worst book I've ever read, because I've read some awful novels in my time, but... it's getting there.
So.... in conclusion, if you're looking a nice contemporary novel, stay very far away from this book. If you're looking for something cringe-worthy and hard to read, by all means, go read this. You probably won't enjoy it, but... do whatever you want, dingus.
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