Book Review: Secondary Characters by Rachel Schieffelbein and Jamaica's Independence Day

Secondary Characters by Rachel Schieffelbein
Genre: YA Romance
Source: Bought ebook at Amazon
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Summary on Goodreads: When Mabel's best friend, Amber, drags her along on a double date she finds herself falling for Lance, the obnoxious class clown whom she swore she'd have no interest in. The only problem is, she's not sure if she's really the girl Lance is into, or if, like every other guy she knows, it's really Amber he's after. One thing is clear, if Mabel wants to be the lead in her own love story, she needs to start acting like it.


Review

Mabel is the typical overlooked best friend but this novella by Rachel Schieffelbein is far from typical. No one miraculously becomes more popular than they are at the start, no sex, the guy's not some pseudo abusive douche and Mabel doesn't try to overthrow or change Amber. These are just a few of the reasons why this book is set apart and a great read for all ages, not just teenagers. What does happen is two people who clearly aren't the 'true stars' of the book get to tell their side. We get to see how the best friend is just as annoyed with the lovey dovey attitude of the stars as we are and that the annoying perfect boyfriend is really....annoying (yeah I'm pointing at you Nick). Lance is a jock but not the one who gets drunk even if he does give corny jokes that get on Mabel's nerves at first. He's a good person and when he doesn't put his foot in his mouth a great guy as well. Also we get it clear from Mabel's side that he's quite handsome.

Secondary Characters is a novella that you can read in a day but the story will stay with you. Mabel and Lance each get to tell their side and it makes for a fun, emotional and well written story. Rachel definitely did a great job with this and take it from me as someone who isn't taken up with the romance genre (unless it has paranormal in front of it), this book is for anyone who enjoys a story that is well done. While I could do less with all the romance jargon that true romance books have to have: I mean do Mabel and Lance really need to feel static electricity and have their hearts beat faster all the time? Yes, because it's a romance novel and no matter how much the repetition annoys me, Rachel makes a real fan of me by using well developed characters that take me beyond my romance is not in my top five genres zone. In the end you get a novella that is worth your time and can be read again and again. If you want to enjoy a novel while rooting for starring 'underdogs', pick this one up today. No matter which genre you like, as long as you can read about teenagers, you won't regret it. Yeah, I went there.

Rating: 4 Stars

Independence Day 

On August 5, 1962 Jamaica became an independent nation. Today we're celebrating another year as a free people and this island will do so in style. I'm proud to be Jamaican and grateful to be free.