Friday, November 12, 2010

One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt

Four dares. Two secrets. One night.

Eliza is in a full-blown panic. Her notebook has been stolen --- the one that lists everything she wants but is afraid to go after. And the absolute worst person in the world has it: her ex-boyriend, Cooper. 

Like it's not bad enough that Cooper was lying to Eliza for their entire relationship --- now he and his friends are blackmailing her. They're giving her just one night to complete the most humiliating tasks on her list or they'll post her secrets online --- including the ones that aren't just about her.

Eliza's sure of only one thing: She isn't going down without a fight. Cooper may have what's left of her dignity, but she's not the only one with something to hide . . .

Stars: 4.5/5
Cover: B+

Eliza's parents go out of town for the night, so Eliza plans on having a nice, quiet, and relaxing movie night with her two best friends, Clarice and  Marissa. But her plans get all turned around when Cooper tells her to meet her at a club that is notorious for not carding. She has no choice but to go, because, well, he has her notebook. The one that she writes all of the things she wants to do but is too scared to? Yeah, that one. 

Cooper and his friends make her do the tasks in her notebook, starting out with easy ones, like getting a hot guy to dance with, turning into more serious ones, like telling her sister a secret that could potentially tear their sisterhood apart. Eliza is forced to do everything they ask, because if she doesn't, they threaten to post her entire notebook online.

Meanwhile, Marissa and Clarice are accompanying Eliza for most of the excursions that last until the sun starts coming up the next morning.

We learn what Cooper did to Eliza to make her hate him and break up with him, and then we learn the truth of why it happened, which was pretty shocking, I think. 

Not everything goes according to plan --- Eliza and her friends get caught breaking-and-entering, Marissa goes to jail for marijuana possession (and she was truthfully "just holding it for a friend"), and Cooper actually tries to help Eliza get her notebook back.

I felt like this book was a magnet and I was a metal --- all throughout my day, all I wanted to do was go sit down somewhere and read this book. I thought it to be very interesting, and it really didn't have any dull points.

I thought it was extremely unique that this book takes place over the course of one night.

The book was written kind of like a movie --- at least, I could totally see it being a movie. In fact, it kind of reminded me of the movie that came out in 2006, Sleepover, with Alexa Vega in it. (If you haven't heard of it, check it out: it's a cute movie). 

I loved that at the beginning of the book, Cooper was portrayed as the enemy, but as the story line progressed he became almost a night-in-shining-armor, saving Eliza.

The characters' dialogue was extremely entertaining and realistic.

Possibly one of my favorite things about this book was that it actually had a message --- an obvious one, not something that you have to deeply analyze to reveal. I'll let you read the book and figure out what it is though. ;)

I would've given this book a 5/5 stars if I hadn't predicted the ending.

In the past month, I have read three of Lauren Barnholdt's books, and I am admittedly becoming a big fan of hers. I intend to read her other books that I haven't read yet: Watch Me and Aces Up.

This book was amazing, and I would recommend to anyone that wants a light read that made them feel all good inside. :)

FTC: I bought this book.

4 comments:

  1. I read Lauren Barnholdt's Two Way Street a few years ago and absolutely loved it, so because of that I keep meaning to read more books my her. Now thanks to your great review, I think One Night That Changes Everything will be a great place to start.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! :D
    Yeah, I finished Two Way Street a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've seen this at the library but never thought to pick it up. I'm taking a trip tomorrow and this will be one of the ones I pick up! Good Review

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ohh, yay! I can't wait to see what you think of it! :D

    ReplyDelete

I love getting your comments, and I try my best to respond to everyone!

Thanks for taking the time to give me your feedback. :)