Review: "Hard to Get"

Hard to Get by Emma Carlson Berne
2 out of 5 stars

I picked this book up on a whim from the YA section at the library one day. It was an okay read, probably better suited for younger girls (obviously). I mean, I know I read a ton of YA books and they're fine (and awesome usually), but sometimes they really do seem too young. Does that make sense? I don't know so I'm just going to go with it. :)

Val is in high school and has been dating continuously since she was first allowed. After she catches her current boyfriend cheating on her, she decides she needs to take a break from boys and just be by herself for a while. Which is all well and good, but her BFF's don't think she can do it. In fact, they bet each other that she won't even last a month. When Val finds out, she's (rightfully) pissed, but decides to go with it and bets against the one BFF that she CAN do it. The stakes are high (for them)...loser has to wear a hideous purple monstrosity to prom and winner gets to wear some diamond jewelry or something.

Everything is going hunky dory until the guys at school find out Val is newly single. They start bombarding her with gifts, letters, friend requests, etc...the scene where she opens her locker and all these stuffed toys fall out was pretty amusing. To distract herself from all the boys, Val decides to throw herself into her community project for school...where she meets Adam. Turns out Adam is, in fact, a boy. But it's okay, because he's kind of emo and arty and Val would totally never fall for anyone like him. See where this is going yet?

Okay, so here are the things I didn't like about this book (consider these spoilers if you actually plan on reading this!):
1. I liked the premise of Val giving up boys and all, but she takes it to the extreme. This book seems to claim that girls and boys can't be friends at all unless they are "interested" in each other. That's just stupid.
2. Val's BFF that bet against her is kind of a bitch frenemy. She doesn't seem to care that Val is doing this for herself not just so she doesn't have to wear an ugly dress. She constantly throws these hot guys at Val in the hopes of messing her up.
3. The boys attacking/stalking/loving her was completely unbelievable. Like so unbelievable that halfway through the book I thought maybe it was really about a magic spell gone wrong. :/
4. The ending. Obviously, she falls for Adam etc...but she also doesn't want to lose the bet. She ends up turning him down and losing him temporarily. Idiot.
5. The characters were very flat. I liked Val okay, but she didn't have the "spirit" in the end that I would have expected. Her BFF's were just boring. Even Adam wasn't book boyfriend material for me. Meh.