Friday, April 22, 2016

Review: My Kind of Crazy by Robin Reul

Release date: April 5th 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:
Despite the best of intentions, seventeen-year old, wisecracking Hank Kirby can’t quite seem to catch a break. It’s not that he means to screw things up all the time, it just happens. A lot. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spells “Prom” in sparklers on her lawn…and nearly burns down her house. 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Peyton Breedlove, a brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, witnesses the whole thing. Much to Hank’s dismay, Peyton takes an interest in him—and his “work.” The two are thrust into an unusual friendship, but their boundaries are tested when Hank learns that Peyton is hiding some dark secrets, secrets that may change everything he thought he knew about Peyton.




*Publisher approved request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.



My Kind of Crazy was fun and at the same time sad. The beginning had me laughing, with how Hank decided to do the promposal and it went awfully wrong, as expected. And from then on I just had the best of time with his character; his humorous thoughts and overall simple personality. But when I got into his family life and saw how his dad was, I felt sad for him. Hank never seemed to have his father's attention, at least not in a good way. And his dad was always giving him crap and drinking a lot. It's a wonder how Hank kept his sanity for that long, but I'm happy he held on because good things eventually came to him. I also liked how artistic he was and that he was into comic books. That made me connect with him a lot more. 

So Hank was about ready to put that mistake and somewhat embarrassment of what happened on his crush's lawn behind him, when in comes Peyton and all her craziness. And this girl certainly seemed out there, from how she handled people getting on her bad side, to her unhealthy obsession with fire. In a way, it was playing with fire that brought them together, and who would've thought these two individuals could be friends. I guess it's because Hank wasn't really a judgmental person, and at the same time he thought it was best not to get on Peyton's bad side so she wouldn't reveal it was him who set off the sparklers. 

I had my reservations about Peyton from the beginning. Like Hank, she had a lot of family issues but hers seemed a lot more intense. She'd often talk about her mother's behavior and the different stepdads she's had, and she was always out late at nights as if afraid of going home. On the outside looking in, one would really believe her when she told Hank all those things. But even though I sympathized with Peyton, I also suspected there was more going on. It was obvious to me that her mental state was off, from the playing with fire to the things she'd say. It just seemed like she needed the right kind of help, and even though she never got it professionally, I liked that Hank was able to give her some kind of happiness even though Peyton was wrong from lying and for being a tad clingy. 

Overall, it was just a good story with nice, fast-paced writing, humorous moments, interesting characters, and sad situations. And I loved that in the end, things worked out for all parties and they managed to find some happiness. I liked that Hank and his father were able to find common ground and his father started to get his act together. A lot of crazy stuff happened throughout the story that made me shake my head and yell at the characters, but honestly, it wouldn't have been that interesting if it wasn't that crazy. I recommend reading this one if you're into YA contemporary with a lot of drama and things that make you say, "Seriously?" 



About the Author
Robin Reul
Robin Reul has been writing since she was in early elementary school, when she used to make her own book club flyers for her classmates and then pen them original stories. Though she grew up on movie sets and worked for many years in the film and television industry both as an actress and in motion picture development, she ultimately decided to focus her attention on writing young adult novels. She likes to write the same kinds of stories she loved as a teen: the ones that give her with butterflies in her stomach and are filled with quirky, memorable characters who stay with the reader long after the story ends. When she’s not writing, Robin can be found singlehandedly driving up the profit margin of her local Starbucks and indulging her love of baked goods, particularly those in the key of pumpkin. She lives in Los Angeles suburbia with her husband, son and daughter.


6 comments:

  1. I love a book that can make me happy and sad. Plus I love an ending where I feel like it all works out for everyone. I might have to check this on out - Great review!

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    1. Thanks, Grace. Hope you enjoy the story when you get to read it :)

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  2. Aw. This sounds like a great coming of age novel. Not looking forward to the sad, though. :/

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    1. It has an interesting plot and characters that are out there. I think you'll like this one, Joy :)

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  3. Sounds like this read puts you on the emotional rollercoaster, lots of different elements to keep you hooked! Great review Shane!

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    1. Thanks, Naomi. Yeah it was an interesting story. Give it a read :)

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