Monday, October 23, 2017

Review: Top Ten - Katie Cotugno

Top Ten
Katie Cotugno
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Ryan McCullough and Gabby Hart are the unlikeliest of friends. Introverted, anxious Gabby would rather do literally anything than go to a party. Ryan is a star hockey player who can get any girl he wants—and does, frequently. But against all odds, they became not only friends, but each other’s favorite person. Now, as they face high school graduation, they can’t help but take a moment to reminisce and, in their signature tradition, make a top ten list—counting down the top ten moments of their friendship:

10. Where to begin? Maybe the night we met.
9. Then there was our awkward phase.
8. When you were in love with me but never told me…
7. Those five months we stopped talking were the hardest of my life.
6. Through terrible fights…
5. And emotional makeups.
4. You were there for me when I got my heart broken.
3. …but at times, you were also the one breaking it.
2. Above all, you helped me make sense of the world.
1. Now, as we head off to college—how am I possibly going to live without you?
 
I really loved this book, and as an homage to Ryan, Gabby, and their lists, I will give my top ten reasons why I loved this book.
  1. Ryan, on the surface, appeared to be this happy-go-lucky jock, who was super popular, could have any girl he wanted, and thought life was a great big party. In reality, he felt alone in crowds and yearned for one-on-one interactions, he felt abandoned by his super-critical father, and he spent most of this book pining for the girl he didn't think he could have. 
  2. Gabby had to struggle every day with her anxiety. She was plagued by panic attacks, and they kept her from letting her true and awesome self shine though. I was beyond elated that she found comfort and solace in Ryan. He was one of the few people, who could talk her through an attack, and he accepted her panic attacks and all. 
  3. Friendship is the heart of this story, and it was a very beautiful friendship. It had it's ups and downs, and I like that the challenges particular to a female/male friendship were addressed, because  they were so realistic. I was just so happy that they found each other, when they really needed that "person" to count on. This friendship may have had a super awkward start, but it blossomed into something really special. 
  4. Family played a huge role in Gabby and Ryan's lives. Gabby's family was beyond wonderful. I loved playing Monopoly with them and couldn't wait to see what appetizer Dad made from his cookbook. They were open about most things, and the love just enveloped me every time we encountered a full family scene. It was no surprise why Ryan opted to spend his Friday nights with the Harts. 
  5. Romance was present throughout the book. Gabby and Ryan both explored serious relationships with other people. I won't lie, I was sort of sad that they were sharing experiences with other people and not each other, but I have to say, Cotugno did such a wonderful job with them. They were very special moments and they felt very special to me. 
  6. So many emotions! I actually have tears streaming down my face as I write this review, because I felt way too much as I read this book. There were so many ups and downs, which happen with long friendships, but there were also a million things that made my heart soar. I am crying, but I am smiling too. 
  7. Four years. We get to be part of Ryan and Gabby's lives for four years, and I go gaga for books that let me watch the characters change and grow over an extended period of time. 
  8. I loved the format of this book. Since this is essentially a list of the top ten moments in Gabby and Ryan's relationship, it skips around chronologically. I liked it, because things would be hinted at, which had not been revealed to us yet. It created a little bit of mystery and made me eager to find out more. The way Cotugno laid out the top ten was not random, they put in an intentional order and each vignette fit logically in its place. It also let me compare and contrast the Gabby and Ryan at different points in time, and I loved making note of all the changes they were experiencing. 
  9. Post graduation struggle. A lot of books hype graduation as the most marvelous thing ever. Everyone is so excited and ready to move on to bigger and better things, but I do not believe that is how every senior/new graduate feels. It's scary and a huge life change. For some, it entails moving away from the safety of their home and they have to start over from in a new place. I liked that Gabby and Ryan had these fears and shared them with us. 
  10. This near-perfect story of friendship, family, and love made me so happy. I was totally invested from the very beginning, and although the ending left me a little wanting, I still will sing its praises, because it delivered an incredible reading experience for me. 
Read these quotes and feel some feels with me:
"Celia called him the Great Equalizer. He was Gabby's social security blanket, her failsafe against miserable, crippling anxiety; she had no idea what she was going to do without him come fall."

"You're just embarrassed that all the most important moments of your adolescence include me."

"Two months. The thought of it gave Ryan that same uneasy feeling from earlier, like everything was about to change whether he wanted it to or not and he couldn't do one single thing to stop it."

"She was a really good question-asker. She remembered all the weird, random stuff he said. She had an opinion about literally everything.."

"literally no one there would notice if I fell of the face of the earth."
"I'd notice," Ryan said immediately.

"He was homesick, he realized. He was homesick for her."

"but the only person he knew for absolute sure he still wanted to be around after graduation was - Well. Gabby, actually."

"He was her most important person, the one she told things to so that they would be real. So that she would be. HIs friendship was the best thing in her life."

"She missed his loud, stupid laugh. She missed his hands and his mouth and the steadiness of his best friendship but worse than ll that's the undeniable fact that some very important, tethered part of her had shut down when they broke up and now she seemed to be hurtling off through space at a million miles per hour, her oxygen tank rapidly emptying out."

"He was scared too, to be honest: of who he might be now that he wasn't who he'd been planning, of the future and whatever it held. But sitting here with Gabby made him feel like he could handle it. Sitting here with Gabby made him feel weirdly brave."

"This is it," she said, swallowing her heart back down into her chest where it belonged. She wanted to reach into her rib cage and hand it to him for safekeeping, wanted him to know he had it no matter what else happened next.


**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.









Do you make top ten lists?
Let us know in the comments!

24 comments:

  1. This sounds so great. I'm a sucker for books that focus on friends and family. Love the list format of your review too. :)

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    1. I personally loved it. My only real issue was the very end, but I just enjoyed the other parts so much.

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  2. I'm so very happy to see such a glowing review for this one. I was initially interested and then put it aside, fearing perhaps it really wouldn't work for me but now I'm thinking I better give it a shot after all. :)

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    1. The biggest complaint I am seeing is the timeline jumps, but they added to the story for me. I liked trying to fill in the gaps until it was revealed in the story

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  3. I just finished reading this one over the weekend and I really liked though not quite as much as I enjoyed Cotugno's debut novel. I loved how focus on the friendship the book was, especially because you don't really see platonic girl-boy relationships a lot. I kinda wish the top 10 were in chronological order though. It was hard trying to figure out the timing.

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    1. Their friendship was beautiful, and I was grateful to share those milestones with them, but I want to hear about a monopoly night, 10 years from now, where they are playing with their own children. 😄

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  4. Such a great review! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this book so much, it sounds right up my alley. I love sweet contemporary stories and I LOVE lists ahah. I'm especially happy that friendship really is a the heart of the story - I love a great friendship story for sure. Adding this to my TBR! <3

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    1. This really is a story of friendship, and it was a beautiful friendship that went through some growing pains, but the struggles just made it stronger.

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  5. Sounds like a lovely read. The part where you had tears streaming down your face got to me. I am going to see if I can get this from my library. Thanks for the lovely review.

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    1. I am getting misty right now as I respond to these comments. I think it's a combination of all the things they went through together, the bond they had, and my wishes for them. I would kill for a novella, like Jennifer E Smith did with This is What Happy Looks Like.

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  6. This really does sounds like a fantastic read. It being to bring out emotions in you says a lot about the writing and the characters. I will have to check this one out. Wonderful review.

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    1. I am sort of sad that so many people were put off by the jumping timeline, because the moments we share with them are so special. My heart was full from reading this is all I know.

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  7. So....I know you and I almost always read the same books. But I have not ever had good luck with this author - doormat heroines, love triangles, cheating. This is not high on my list and I do have issues with jumpy timelines. And list books. But I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
    Jen Ryland Reviews

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    1. Cotugno works for me. I am ok with some of the things you mention IF there is growth. This is by far my favorite book by Cotugno, because it is really a story of friendship, and there is a lot of love between the characters and their families and I was so caught up in it. You can't love every book. I have a large list of DNFs and read lots of reviews raving over books, where I am wondering if I read the same book as them. I get not liking a format either, but I like the challenge of the jumpy timeline.

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  8. Ryan and Gabby are so opposite and so wonderful at the same time. This really does sound like a fun read!

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    1. It was definitely a friendship where they complimented each other. I really loved this book. I am such a sucker for friendship stories

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  9. This books looks amazing! I love that you point out that we get to see their lives for an extended period of time. I love that about books because I always want more from the characters. Great review! Love the format!

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    1. I love when there is history between characters, and this one gave us all of high school with Gabby and Ryan. The bad times were tough for me, but there were so many good times, and both Gabby and Ryan grew so much during. I only have love for this book.

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  10. Excellent review, Sam! I admit my expectations were measured going in to this one. I've read 2 others by Cotugo and liked one and was meh on the other... so this one was a deal-breaker. :) And obviously she hit t out of the park. Loved it. My heart broken fro Ryan. (OMG how I loathed his sorry father.) I loved Gabby's family. And like you mentioned, I really appreciated how it showed post-graduation uncertainty. Not everyone has it all figured out immediately. And it doesn't always happen the same way for everyone. I loved that it showed that. This was such a winner.

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    1. Yes. I hated Ryan's dad, but at least his mom tried, and I was so happy he had Gabby's family to give him that stability he craved. Cotugno is solid for me. This is by far my favorite from her, but they were all enjoyable. I still struggle a little with the ending of this book, but I enjoyed the rest so much.

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  11. Oh I LOVE how you did this review, so clever you are! I agree completely, I REALLY liked this book. I think with a stronger ending, I would have given it 5 stars- it was on its way, until that! Great review!

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    1. I was so happy when I read this book, because it seemed like Cotungo got her groove back, but I agree, it needed a stronger ending. It wasn't the worst, as I still gave it a high rating and will continue to laud the book, but the rest of the book was so strong for me. It was a little bit of a let down.

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  12. In theory, I like the idea of this book. I am a fan of lists, after all, but Cotugno seems to always miss the mark for me. her books sound brilliant and they are well written and everything but they just don't work for me. Her first two books were kind of disappointing for me so I think I'll give this one a miss. It sounds like it totally worked for you, which is awesome, a book which gets you emotional and invested is always good but great review and glad you enjoyed it.

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    1. Fireworks was weaker for me than 99 days, but this was by far my favorite. The relationship she built between Ryan and Gabby was just so special, that I was almost, even able to forgive the ending.

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