Review: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Author: Nina LaCour

Publisher: Dutton Children's Books

Page Count: 307 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: February 16th 2012 

Goodreads description:

Colby's post-high school plans have long been that he and his best friend Bev would tour with her band, then spend a year in Europe. When Bev announces that she will start college just after the tour, Colby struggles to understand why she changed her mind and what losing her means for his future.

My Rating: 4.5/5 -LOVED IT.

Looking at the cover, The Disenchantments  looks to be a fun, summer-romance-road-trip, bring-to-the-beach-and-relax type of read. Well, think again my friends. This books touches on some pretty tough situations and is very much a 'finding-yourself' story. Which is great... I love those type of books usually, and this was no exception!

First of all, I'll start by saying that I was so not expecting this story to be in the point of view of a guy. I mean.... Look at the cover! Does that scream 'Male Protagonist' to you? I know you're all probably shaking your heads at me and saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover, Kristy!" But it was an honest mistake... The description on the flap doesn't really specify that Colby is a guy. I think it's because I know a girl named Colby, so I automatically connected those two things. So, if anyone is wondering... Colby is a BOY!

Now that we have that clarified, let's get onto the book! Since this is a road trip-type book, the setting changes often. But that made it a lot of fun to read! All the little places they went, the rundown towns, the hot tub club and the school-made-into-hotel. Every place in the book was described really well and it was a great escape from English class or the school bus for me. I did feel a little disconnected from the characters at times though. Colby is so in love with Bev, but honestly I never truly understood why. Yes, we can see him pining for her and wishing she'd open up to him, but that was all I got from him. There was never a real explanation of why he loved her so much. I also really loved the music aspect to this novel. It was really fun picking out the songs I know and then finding ones I didn't that were mentioned. And also just... Picture it in your mind: Three beautiful teenage girls in a band, on a road trip/tour, playing their terrible music wherever they could. Then you've got their totally talented artist-roadie just tagging along for the ride. It sounds like a blast, right? And it was, for the most part. There was some mystery involved, a big scavenger hunt for a tattoo replica of a logo. The graffiti and all the cool knowledge we get about it. But then there was the darker stuff. It touched on a few tough subjects which kept the story from being a completely fluffy, light read. I learned a lot from this book and that was probably the thing that made me love it so much. Other than the fact that this book inspired me to live my life to the fullest and appreciate all the little things. (Wow, big cliche... But that's kind of the lesson I got from the story!) Overall, if you're looking for a fun book to read that is still serious in a way other than romance, this is the book I would recommend. Just remember... Don't judge a book by it's cover!



Wow it feels great to get this review out finally! I've got the flu and had a huge project due for socials, so it's been difficult to post much. This weekend is Easter long-weekend though, so I've got four days off!!! Hopefully I'll be able to get a ton of reviews up, plus do some layout editing if I get the chance. Busy, busy, busy!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway... Good luck everyone!
-Kristy