Sunday, May 11, 2014

The Best Night of your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Tara Altebrando's book, The Best Night of your (Pathetic) Life! I grabbed it off the book return cart as I was walking out of school on Thursday, knowing I needed a quick fun read for the weekend. This book fit the bill perfectly!

A bittersweet story, Mary and her friends are participating in a senior year tradition - the scavenger hunt. Throughout the hunt we learn all of the highlights (and lowlights) of her school career, uncovering secret crushes, broken hearts, best friends, and even sisterly love.

This fun story goes much deeper than just the evening of fun, and we learn not only some of the regrets of Mary's past, but also her fears of growing up, leaving town, going off to college, and facing a future she has been dreaming of.

As an adult I read this book with many tugs on my heart and a few tears in my eyes. Mary uncovers some of the secrets that only adults know: that true high school loves usually fade. That parent/child relationships are complicated and not always what they appear to be. That there are many years ahead, with huge joys, and the disappointments of high school will mean much less when 5, 10, 20 years have passed.

Perhaps The Best Night of your (Pathetic) Life is best read by adults - people who know that the best night probably won't happen in high school and that your life is not nearly as pathetic as you think. So whether you're in high school or "all grown up" this is a book that will make you wish you were off stealing statues, skinny-dipping, sneaking around, and enjoying fun times with good friends.




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