review: Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom

pub date: January 10, 2012
publisher: Disney-Hyperion
pages: 288
source: NetGalley
appeals: prom, romance, high school
content: swearing, sexual reference, underage drinking, drugs

thoughts:
What a fun premise. Justine begins her story in a ditch the morning after prom, then spends the morning telling her new "friends" at the 7-11 how the night that was supposed to be amazing was anything but. For the most part, I enjoyed reading Justine's prom night adventures. It was cute and sweet and full of missed opportunities and misunderstandings.

Justina's voice was strong, appealing and had a lot of personality. At times she was annoying because she jumped to conclusions A Lot, which was one of the reasons her night didn't end up so great, but because of her strong voice, I was able to overlook this small annoyance. 

In the beginning I thought this would be a fun book for younger teens or tweens, but as the novel progressed, I changed my mind. There was a lot of swearing, sexual discussions, drinking, and drugs. All that content took away from the sweetness of the story. It also took away from my enjoyment. Without all that content, I would have loved this book. As it was, it was just enjoyable.

summary:
High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.


Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat handle first.

Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.

Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom.

And then ditched her.

Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together — stain by stain on her thrift-store dress — exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag's moving car...

But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love.

Filled with humor, charm, and romance, Ditched: A Love Story by debut novelist Robin Mellom will have readers dreaming of love on their own prom nights.