Ultra Meital Reviews: The Accidentals by Sarina Bowen

Sarina is a MUST read for me, and there's a good reason for that. When I heard she is releasing a Young Adult novel I was intrigued and maybe a tiny bit worried. Worried is a strong word. Let's just stay with intrigued :) Generally speaking I don't like and therefor don't read YA but with Sarina I knew the only real option is READ IT and of course I wasn't disappointed. I was FLOORED! I started this book nearing midnight, thinking I"ll just read a bit before I fall to sleep and found myself reading until the birds started chirping outside and light streamed through the window into my room. yeah, I had one of THOSE days today where I could barely hold myself upright but it was SO worth it.

The Accidentals isn't truly a love story though there IS a bit of romance mixed in it. A very sweet and tender one. This book is YA and intended for young readers in that there is few little sexual content. I actually really liked it and how sexuality was discussed in the book. It felt very genuine and heart felt. I think any young reader can and will enjoy this one, even if at times it deals with difficult situations. I know I'm going to cherish this one for a long time.

The whole story is told from Rachel Kress's POV. She is almost 18 years old when she loses her mother to cancer. Having very little to no family when her father comes to take her she accepts, even if she has never actually SEEN her father up close until now. She KNEW who her father was since she was little, and not because they share a very musician / artistic sense, but through the monthly paycheck which came in the mail. The only real connection she had with him, if you leave aside how much she "fan-girled" his music over the years even if her mother disapproved. She has failed to ask her mother what happened between her and Frederick Richards 18 years ago and now her only way of getting the truth is through this stranger.

It's easy for Rachel to leave her life behind and start a new one in California with Frederick. It's not easy leaving Haze - her best friend - behind the one who helped her the most through her mother's ordeal, yet things have changed between them and she isn't sure how to deal with it, so putting the past miles behind is easier but it doesn't make it better living with a real life legend who is her biological father but she actually knows NOTHING about except for what she have been reading on the papers throughout the years.. She feels she IS getting closer to him, and yet his behavior keeps confusing her. She keeps waiting for him to reject her, to say or do something and leave her behind like he did all those years ago, before she was even born.

Rachel isn't brave enough to confront Frederick but the one who stands up to her is no other than Frederick's new girlfriend. I wasn't sure where THAT was going but actually I REALLY enjoyed that plot line as well. It showed how much Frederick has changed, or wanted to change and make the RIGHT decisions for his life.

Rachel acquired a whole new family through Frederick - grand parents, as well as many others from his side. It something she needs to get used to. She enjoyed her new grandmother but she is also very confused by her. She puts her in a very difficult situation - blaming her son for neglecting her granddaughter- the exact feelings SHE is dealing with, but in order for Rachel to live with her new found father she needs to find a way to forgive or at least ACCEPT him as he is. She also CRAVES to learn the truth but that would take the WHOLE of the book until she (and us) learn though we do get "crumbs" on the way, mostly from Frederick's childhood best friend and band-mate Ernie.

Though the book starts with orphaned Rachel her mother is still a constant in this book which was endearing and heart breaking at the same time. Rachel knew she won't be staying in the little town she grew up in because she was already accepted to a pre-school where her mother studies all those years when she met Rachel's father. Studying there is Rachel's DREAM. Now that her mother is gone, it's a way to connect and maybe learn a little about who her mother was back then, see where she was at the same age she is now. But also develop her singing abilities and hopefully continue her studies in the college near by.

See, I had so much to say and yet I haven't said anything about Rachel's love interest Jake who is the SWEETEST THING! and I haven't mentioned her Spanish roommate Aurora who is also absolutely brilliant! I loved the interaction between the three of them and loved Aurora's HEA as well, though we got very little of it.

I can talk for HOURS about this one. There is so many great things about it. I really enjoyed Rachel's perspective at life. Though she IS young, she didn't feel childish. She had her issues and she was doing her best to deal with all of them in the best possible way. It wasn't easy, but I think she managed this year in the best possible way even with everything that happened. I wish her all the best, but actually I KNOW she is going to do great. Frederick might have done his share of mistakes, but I can see it working for them as a family.

HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I kindly received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book will release on July 10th, and can already be Pre-Ordered through the links bellow.