Have you ever had a love so intense that it threatened to consume you? That only happens in the movies, right? Wrong. Jamie McGuire, who was born here in Tulsa, has given classic couples a run for their money with her devastatingly good book, Beautiful Disaster. This was published by Atria.
Abby Abernathy is starting her freshman year of college with a sigh of relief. New state, new place, new people (except her best friend, America), and most importantly, a new start. Abby is sweet, caring, thoughtful, but not as innocent as people believe. Desperate to erase her past, Abby is determined to put her best foot forward. However, that step falters a bit when she comes face to face with Travis Maddox, a walking banner displaying everything she left behind.
Travis, with a smug smile, tattooed arms, fast bike, and line of broken hearts, is everything that Abby is steadfastly trying to avoid. However, what starts out as a reluctant friendship blooms into something that no one saw coming. When her past, and Travis’s present, catch up, Abby struggles to stay afloat, not realizing that her pride may be what sinks her after all.
There are plenty of books out there that will make you laugh, cry, and care about the characters. And there are plenty of books that will leave you sighing, hugging the novel to your chest, wishing you had a love like that. And then there’s this book, which does all of the above while at the same time threatening to rip your heart out. McGuire pulls no punches with this novel. Just when you think you have things figured out, she throws another curve ball. The story doesn’t just flow, it rages. You will be desperate to get to the end, and don’t even try to get anything done the day you start reading this. It won’t happen.
Honestly, there’s something a little unhealthy about their relationship, but the saving grace is that they know it. They’re not delusional. They are perfectly aware of how dysfunctional they are, but they work through it. It’s definitely not the model relationship, and parents will not approve, but it’s real. These are the feelings that college kids have. These are some of the things that these kids go through, and to pretend that nothing good can come out of it IS delusional. Sometimes people do get their happy endings, but most of the time they have to fight for it. And that’s what Abby and Travis do, they fight for it. Even if that means fighting each other.
The next book, Walking Disaster, is Beautiful Disaster from Travis's point of view. It will be available April 2.
You can find Beautiful Disaster at any of Tulsa’s local book stores: Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Gardners.
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