Book Review: “Promise Me Something” by Sara Kocek

As if starting high school weren’t bad enough, Reyna Fey has to do so at a new school without her best friends. Reyna’s plan is to keep her head down, help her father recover from the car accident that almost took his life, and maybe even make some friends. And then Olive Barton notices her. Olive is not exactly the kind of new friend Reyna has in mind. The boys make fun of her, the girls want to fight her, and Olive seems to welcome the challenge. There’s something about Olive that Reyna can’t help but like. But when Reyna learns Olive’s secret, she must decide whether it’s better to be good friends with an outcast or fake friends with the popular kids. . . .before she loses Olive forever.

This novel is really a one of a kind Young Adult book. It had me feeling nostalgic at times, intrigued, raging mad at particular parts, empathetic towards some characters and most of all understanding towards the different trials each character had to go through and the reasons behind the decisions that they made.

Reyna is a teen who is trying to deal with the cards she’s dealt and fails horribly. Seven years ago her mother died and just a few days ago her father nearly met the same fate when Lucy, her soon-to-be step mother, ran a stop sign. Needless to say she has it out for Lucy and never gives her a break. On top of all this, Reyna now has to attend a new school separate from the friends she’s known all her life. Seeing as how she hasn’t been able to make any new friends at her new school, it’s no wonder really that she allows Olive to befriend her. Although, at first, Reyna only tolerates Olive, their friendship becomes solid after a couple of swigs of alcohol at an unplanned sleepover where secrets are shared. Yet, Reyna can’t fight off the ominous feeling that Olive is harboring a dark secret.

Staying true to the pattern of good novels, Sara Kocek brings across a familiar conflict in such a unique way. At a particular sleepover at Olive’s, Reyna discovers that Olive is gay. While I don’t agree with Reyna’s reaction to finding out a secret that Olive has only told her online friend, Grace, later in the story I realized that her friendship with Olive was the first time she’s been exposed to homosexuality.

Yet, Reyna goes a little step further by totally ostracizing Olive and becoming friends with the same group of girls that picked on Olive and herself at one point in time. While I was more than pissed that Reyna would go this far upon finding out about Olive’s sexuality, the novel explained that it wasn’t that Reyna had something against homosexuality but more so she feared what her peers would say if they were ever to find out about Olive. Typical peer pressure.

Anyways, after Olive’s secret is out, everything seems to go haywire as Olive refuses to let her friendship with Reyna be murdered because of social disapproval. This includes the exposure of other secrets, a nasty verbal abuse by a self-righteous History teacher, destruction of old friendships, a revenge plot and a very sudden suicide.

Regardless of the events that took place in this highly engaging novel, the ending was so satisfying but also predictable (maybe because I’ve read more than my fair share of suspense books). I enjoyed reading about how Reyna handled the different situations she found herself in and also how the conflicts were resolved. I especially admired how realistic and cute the author made Reyna’s relationship with the charming Levi appear.

Sara Kocek takes familiar controversy issues and narrates them in such an original way that makes Promise Me Something a novel worthy enough to sit among my collection of re-readable books.

Rating: 9.5/10

Book Info:

Publisher:  Albert Whitman Teen (September 1, 2013)
Length:  320 pages (Hardcover)
Series: N/A
Source: ARC (Provided by Publisher)
Genre: Teens & YA
Completed: August 2013

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