Title: Don't Hate the Player
Author: Katie Ashley
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
BOOK DESCRIPTION
For Noah Sullivan being the best friend to a douchebag and player like Jake Nelson has never been easy. It's been a rocky road since kindergarten when Jake duct taped Noah to his chair before recess. With just six weeks to high school graduation, Jake accidentally blows his drunken ass up on his grandfather's tractor, and Noah finds himself immersed not only in a whirlwind of grief, but on a quest to find a mystery girl from Jake's past.
While cleaning out Jake's room, Noah and Jake's dad make a startling discovery. Instead of the obligatory porn collection or pot stash, they find a ring, but not just any ring. Its half a carat of commitment in a platinum setting-proving even man whores have taste. After Jake's mom pleads with Noah to find the girl who meant so much to Jake, Noah begins a modern day Grail quest to track the girl down.
Since Jake was a notorious player with a legendary collection of trophy panties, Noah finds himself in over his head. There are the usual suspects like Avery, the Ice Princess Jake dated for appearances, or Presley, the school mattress Jake dated for convenience. But the trail begins to point to the most unlikely of suspects: Maddie, the Valedictorian and choir girl who was trying to help the unmotivated jock graduate--the girl who also has surprisingly caught Noah's eye and meddled with his heart.
Hanging out with Maddie shows Noah a different side of Jake--one that was deeply human and surprisingly douche-free. And the more he tries to solve the mystery of the ring and of Jake, the more Noah starts to discover about himself and of love.
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About the Author
She spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.
She also writes Young Adult fiction under the name Krista Ashe.
Author Links
My Review
At first when I started reading this book, I wasn't so sure I would like it. (Before you stop reading my review you should know that I LOVED this book) It's not very often you find a book that is written from the guys perspective and for me it's the first one I've ever read. Sure there are a lot out there, I've just never come across one. While I expected to find a book devoid of any passion and just full of male language and drama I was surprised to discover a book that was very well written and very passionate.
At the beginning of the book we meet Noah, a senior in high school a few weeks away from graduation. He finds himself sitting in a classroom wondering what on Earth happened to his best friend Jake who is not in class that day, no doubt off goofing off and getting drunk or pursuing his latest conquest. Jake and Noah have been friends since Kindergarten and have always been there for one another ever since the day Jake taped Noah to a chair and demanded that they be friends. Jake and Noah have grown close over the years always being there for one another so when Jake stops responding to text messages that Noah is sending him, Noah begins to worry. When Noah is called into the auditorium and finds himself surrounded by some of his other classmates and mutual friends of both his and Jake he begins sense something is very wrong. Turns out Jake was shooting bullets and accidentally blew himself up on his grandfather's tractor.
Lost, confused, and devastated Noah is at a loss for what to do. Jake has always been a part of his life; everywhere he turns are memories of his times with Jake. His house, Jake's house, places all over town, Noah begins to fall apart. He can't eat, he can't sleep, and the last of himself that he was holding together after his grandfather's death two years ago, he completely crumbles. Make matters worse when Noah heads to Jake's house to comfort his family, Jake's dad shows Noah some lyrics written by Jake and an engagement ring. Noah is floored, Jake has always been a playboy drinking and with all different chicks so to discover he has an engagement ring makes Noah start to reevaluate what he knew about his best friend and how well he really knew him after all this time. When Jake's mother finds out about the ring he makes Noah promise that he will do whatever it takes to find that girl that meant the world to Jake; so much so that he wanted to marry her.
Noah begins to search his memory for signs that Jake had feelings for a girl and zeros in on a conversation they had a while back in which he said he was in love with a girl but didn't want to tell him who it was until he was able to tell the girl himself. Lost, confused, and on his quests he begins searching for the girl that Jake cared deeply for and quickly begins to rule out the usual suspects zeroing in on non other than the pastor's daughter Maddie. Maddie is not the type of girl Jake usually goes for, she is the valedictorian and good girl who had been helping Jake in his quest to graduate from high school. The more time Noah spends with Maddie the more he begins to discover things about his best friend that he would have never have guessed possible. Jake was going to give up his player ways and even was volunteering with the church and spending a great deal of time with Maddie. As Noah and Maddie begin to spend more time together, Noah begins to suspect more and more that Maddie is the girl that Jake was in love with and the more time he spends with her, the more he discovers himself falling for her as well. Maddie is his angel and helps him through so many different obstacles in his life after Jake's death helping him heal, learn forgiveness, the path to doing the right thing, and most of all teaching Noah how to love. So when Noah discovers the truth what will he do?
I really recommend this book, there are few authors that can catch you from the beginning of the book and hold you until the very end. I even at one point had to stop reading because I was in tears due to the emotions I was feeling while reading this book. It was an amazing book and I look forward to reading more of the work by Katie Ashley in the very near future. While YA is not normally my genre of choice I found that I really was able to connect with this book, you should check it out it was great and I will be reading it again in the very near future; I give it 5 stars!
Event organized by: Literati Literature Lovers
Giveaways
Grand Prize Tour Giveaway: 5 Winners will be chosen. MUST RESIDE IN THE USA TO BE ELIGIBLE ~ Audio DVD of The Proposition & The Proposal (one winner gets both), Signed Paperback of Music of the Heart, Signed Paperback of The Proposition, Signed Paperback of The Proposal, Swag Pack.
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