Review: Finding Paris by Joy Preble

9 April, 2015 Reviews 3 comments

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Finding Paris by Joy PrebleFinding Paris by Joy Preble
Series: Standalone
Published by Balzer + Bray on April 21st 2015
Pages: 272
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Amazon Good BooksBook Depository
Goodreads
one-star

An evocative and compelling story of two sisters who would do anything for each other--perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Speak. Joy Preble's stirring new novel explores the lengths to which sisters go to protect each other, and the winding road that brings two strangers into each other's lives.

Sisters Leo and Paris Hollings have only ever had each other to rely on. They can't trust their mother, who hops from city to city and from guy to guy, or their gambler stepfather, who's moved them all to Las Vegas. It's just the two of them: Paris, who's always been the dreamer, and Leo, who has a real future in mind--going to Stanford, becoming a doctor, falling in love. But Leo isn't going anywhere right now, except driving around Vegas all night with her sister.

Until Paris ditches Leo at the Heartbreak Hotel Diner, where moments before they had been talking with physics student Max Sullivan. Outside, Leo finds a cryptic note from Paris--a clue. Is it some kind of game? Where is Paris, and why has she disappeared? When Leo reluctantly accepts Max's offer of help, the two find themselves following a string of clues through Vegas and beyond. But the search for the truth is not a straight line. And neither is the path to secrets Leo and Max hold inside.

Let’s pretend that your sister leaves you at a diner without your wallet/phone/car at three in the morning. She didn’t leave you all alone. She couldn’t possibly be that mean. No, she left you with a dude you just met and a very cryptic note telling you that you have to find her. What would you do? Would you call 911? Borrow a cellphone to call your parents? Or would you let that stranger-dude help you solve your sister’s crazy scavenger hunt? I’ll give you a second to guess what our beloved main character, Leo, ends up doing. Did you guess the nonsensical/irrational/unsafe option? Good job. Now, Leo is not immune from the dangers of the world. She knows trusting a complete stranger to drive her around in the middle of the night is not safe. She even questions his motives and the like. This doesn’t stop her from trusting him, though. Her doubts don’t even stop her from taking him to her house. HER HOUSE. Because that’s what smart, young women do.

Call me old-fashioned but I think there’s something wrong here.  I’m not even buying the she-doesn’t-have-anybody-else-in-the-world-but-the-handsome-stranger crap because I don’t have a lot of friends, but I still wouldn’t get in a stranger’s car OR go on a road trip with said stranger because who does that? Seriously?

But wait! It gets better. Our beloved Leo is soooo concerned about her sister’s wellbeing that she still manages to think about kissing that random dude she just met. Because people think about making out when their loved ones are missing and/or in danger. Insta-love for the win. I don’t know if you can tell but I’m a bit angry.

The big reveal is slightly shocking, but at that point of the book I was more annoyed than intrigued. Is it heartbreaking? Sure, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It doesn’t explain why her sister used the worst way to handle a delicate problem or why she chose to create such a big commotion when she could’ve handled it in a more grown-up way. I don’t even feel bad for not feeling bad. My range of emotions goes from angry to very angry because of this book so don’t blame me.

I guess something kept me reading until the end. Masochism, perhaps?  I wish I had a physical copy so I could throw it at that guy that keeps trying to sell me cable. Now THAT is an appropriate way to handle a stranger.

Paola Carolina

Paola Carolina

Reviewer at Cuddlebuggery
Anglophile, bookworm, and occasional fangirl. Find me on Goodreads.

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