Book Review: Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

SUMMARY:

Best friends Lani and Erin couldn’t be more different. Lani’s reserved and thoughtful; Erin’s bubbly and outgoing. Lani likes to do her own thing; Erin prefers an entourage. There’s no possible way they could be interested in the same guy.

So when Erin starts dating Jason, Lani can’t believe she feels such a deep connection with him—and it may be mutual. The more Lani fights it, the more certain she feels that it’s her fate to be with Jason. But what do you do when the love of your life is the one person you can’t have?

OPINION: 3 STARS

This is a cute, fun read with plenty of teenage situations and a strong theme carried throughout. The title of this book is highly fitting and Colasanti uses the fate theme throughout. She finds interesting and unique ways to insert it, from Lani's steady checking of horoscopes to pointing out things that were meant to be even if others found them to be coincidences. She pitches it in a great light, showing insight into the world of astrology, The Energy, and fate that make this book something unique.

Lani is an interesting character, most notably due to her high belief in Fate. Despite her growing and unintended attraction towards Jason, she struggles to stay true to her best friend and not cross any boundaries. Her guilt stays strong, lurking beneath the happiness Jason brings her and Colasanti does a fantastic job capturing the way this situation could make a teenage girl feel. I was able to empathize with this character often, even when she seemed to be blatantly idiotic- but that made it more authentic.

Erin, on the other hand, was a character who grated my nerves and was incredibly selfish. The overall friendship between these two was interesting to read but at the smallest infarction, she's the girl who lashes out hard. Despite that, she was just as realistic as Lani and the two did complement each other in companionable ways.

Jason's character was as well done as the others and his understanding of these two girls stood out. He tried to be supportive of Lani in several situations and he even took her quarks and idiosyncrasies in strides, finding them to be more reasons to fall for her. I found his interactions with Lani to be realistic and their banter flowed smoothly.

Although the plot is simple- the premise being a love triangle- Colasanti makes it quarky and something all her own. The biggest downfall this book had for me was the actual dialect. Though it was how some teenagers talk, I found myself distracted by it- with things such as like, he goes, etc, the book immerses the reader into teenage blabber a little more than I can handle in a book.

Overall, this is a pretty quick read with a often used plot that is made unique. The fate theme holds strong throughout, bringing up interesting and thought provoking points. Despite the dialect and voice of Lani, the writing is good considering the route Colasanti chose to take and the plot develops at a steady pace.

Details:
Source: ARC received from publisher for review and as part of an upcoming blog tour
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (May 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0670011460
ISBN-13: 978-0670011469

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