Review: Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Title: Two-Way Street
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 288
Release date: June 26th 2007
Genre: Contemporary YA; romance
Source: Bought at The Book Depository

Find out more: Amazon ; Goodreads

Goodreads description:

There are two sides to every breakup.
This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.
Then Jordan dumps Courtney -- for a girl he met on the Internet. It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la -- this is Courtney pretending not to care.
But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot. Turns out, he's got a secret or two that he's not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can't get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.

First sentence:

I'm a traitor to my generation.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I have no idea how I'm going to justify my 4-star-rating.This book is definitely flawed, and it's not as good as the other books I've given 4 stars to, but I honestly don't care - Two-Way Street is just so much fun!

The humor is what I liked best about this book. The character's voices and especially Courtney's narration is hilarious, just like the way Courtney and Jordan treat each other. The witty comments had me laughing out loud several times.

Courtney is a great character. No, she's not the best-written or most complex character I've ever read about, but she's so, so easy to relate to. Her thoughts and feelings are ones I've experienced myself, and I think other teenaged girls have, too. I don't mean I know exactly what happens (I've never been on a roadtrip with my ex or anything like that), just the way she thinks and handles the situations. Courtney's narration is great and I really liked her.

Jordan, however, never really grew on me. Basically, all he talks about is sex, and that got pretty annoying. At some parts of the novel, he seemed sweet, like the way he cared for Courtney. For the most part, though, he just annoyed me. Especially in the flashbacks, it seemed to me like the only thing he wanted from Courtney (or girls in general) was sex, so I never really liked Jordan. The swearing in Jordan's narration is a little too extreme, in my opinion. I don't generally have a problem with curse-words, but he uses them so often they don't really mean anything anymore.

I'm split on what to make of Courtney and Jordan's relationship since I liked Courtney but didn't really like Jordan. At some parts, their romance is cute, but sometimes I just couldn't enjoy it because of my dislike for Jordan. Courtney's feelings for Jordan and the way she doesn't want to show them are adorable, though.

I love the supporting characters. Again, they're not the best-written ones, but B.E. and Jocelyon are hilarious. I loved their relationship with each other, and also B.E.'s friendship with Jordan and Jocelyn's friendship with Courtney. B.E.'s and Jocelyn's lines are what had me laughing out loud most of the time.

The plot is, well, predictable to say the least. The description makes it seem like there's some big secret. Jordan is keeping a big secret from Courtney, but not from the reader - we find out what the problem with their relationship is after the first few chapters. That made it very easy to know how their relationship would develop over the course of the novel.

I know, I know - what I said in my review is mainly negative, and I did not do a good job of justifying my 4-star-rating. No, if you're looking for something with a deep, meaningful message and great, lyrical writing, Two-Way Street is not the book for you. But Two-Way Street is definitely fun! It's hilarious, and Courtney is easy to relate to, which is always important for me. So if you're looking for a cute, quick read with great humor and romance, Two-Way Street is perfect for you! And really - who doesn't need something quick and fun every once in a while?