{YA eARC Review} Red Girl, Blue Boy (If Only . . . #5) by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

 Red Girl, Blue Boy (If Only . . . #5) by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Enjoy Red Girl, Blue Boy and the other standalone titles in Bloomsbury’s contemporary If Only romance line centered around an impossible problem: you always want what you can’t have!

Sixteen-year-old Katie and Drew really shouldn’t get along. After all, her father is the Republican nominee for President of the United States while his mother is at the top of the Democratic ticket. But when Katie and Drew are thrown together in a joint interview on a morning talk show, they can’t ignore the chemistry between them. With an entire nation tuned into and taking sides in your parents’ fight, and the knowledge that—ultimately—someone has to lose, how can you fall in love with the one person you’re supposed to hate?

This title in the If Only line is a frank and funny romance that shows how sparks fly when opposites attract. (Blurb via Goodreads)

{Details} eARC, 304 pages. Expected publication: October 20th 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

{Rating} 4/5 - I really liked it!

{Review}

I really liked Katie. I wasn't sure I would, it was difficult to relate to her because she's so very different than I am, but she has this awkward charm, this small, lonely life, that made me want to give her a hug and tell her it's all going to be okay. Katie is a very focused girl, focused on the future, on how everything will be better when her dad wins the election. However, I didn't find her character to be very consistent. Katie is a smart, savvy girl who is specifically portrayed as a politically savvy girl which makes me not buy the multiple times where she makes big political faux pas.

Drew's a sweet guy. He thinks about others, has strong convictions, tries to rise above petty things, he's also got a reluctant white knight complex and a strong desire to live in the land of denial. I liked his close relationship with Sandy, his best friend and the way he saw behind Katie's nearly impervious shield.

The romance is a pretty cute one and has a few swoony moments. I thought they were good for each other, filling in their blanks as Katie gets Drew interested in politics and Drew helps her experience all of those normal things she'd missed.

Though I liked the story I did think the premise had a lot more possibilities, many opportunities for interesting things to happen but once they started a relationship it became all about the romance. I also wished there had been a few surprises, a twist or two, it was pretty clear where things were headed.